ALBANY — Albany County Executive Dan McCoy strongly defended his pick of a former Republican lawyer for county attorney Friday as a prominent gay rights activist launched a campaign to block the man's confirmation because of his ties to conservative organization that opposes same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

McCoy's nomination this month of Thomas Marcelle to the top legal post in a staunchly Democratic county was unlikely to pass without controversy.

But opposition to the pick that had been percolating behind the scenes for two weeks went public Friday when political consultant and LGBT activist Libby Post put up a website, www.stoptommarcelle.org, urging McCoy to withdraw Marcelle's name from consideration or, failing that, for the Democrat-led County Legislature to refuse to confirm him.

Post zeroed in on Marcelle's affiliation with the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative national organization that describes itself as providing "resources that will keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel through the legal defense of religious freedom, the sanctity of life, marriage and the family."

"Whether it's an elected official or someone who works for government in a position like that," said Post, who is also active in the county's progressive community, "my perspective is: if someone is anti-gay rights or anti-choice, they're not going to get my support."

Marcelle, who is listed as senior counsel to the group on its website, could not be reached for comment Friday.

But McCoy — a Democrat who said he is both pro-choice and in favor same-sex marriage — dismissed Post's criticism, saying she was suggesting he should impose political and social litmus tests on people he hires for government jobs.

"I should have put on the application to check off whether you're Conservative, Dem., Republican or whatever your affiliation is?" McCoy said. "I didn't hire the guy for his religious beliefs. I hired him because he's a hell of an attorney and he's well overqualified."

McCoy noted that it was Marcelle whom the Democrat-run county turned to last year to defend its redistricting plan against a lawsuit. Among Marcelle's legal accomplishments is winning a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court case defending the rights of an Otsego County religious group to meet in a public school building after hours.

But Marcelle's switch last year from the GOP to the Conservative Party, which backed McCoy in his uncontested election for county executive, fueled speculation that Marcelle's appointment was about political alliances as much as it was Marcelle's lengthy list of legal bonafides.

Legislator Noelle Kinsch, an Albany Democrat, said she was aware of "mounting concerns" about the nomination and looked forward to hearing Marcelle explain his ties to the group at a Personnel Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

"These new facts about Mr. Marcelle are very troubling," Kinsch said, noting she views the county attorney's post as a policy making position.

Legislature Chairman Shawn Morse, however, suggested Post's position on the issue amounts to hypocrisy from a woman whose devotion he otherwise admires.

"Her commitment to the gay community is second to none. What's disturbing to me, however, then is that she would like to discriminate against Tom Marcelle for his religious beliefs," the Cohoes Democrat said. "It kind of seems to go against her whole life's work to fight for what she believes are people's God-given rights."

Post countered that her objection is about what she said has been the Alliance Defense Fund pushing religion into civic life.

"The issue here is not having anybody's religious beliefs run public policy," Post said. "That's the issue."

Reach Jordan Carleo-Evangelist at 454-5445 or jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com. On Twitter: @JCEvangelist_TU.