TROY – City Council Republicans are bringing back their motion to appoint five marshals, that would keep a key GOP operative in the office while allowing Democrats to keep a councilwoman’s husband as a marshal.

The Republican-sponsored measure was knocked out in a 3-3 vote with one abstention when the council met Jan. 9. A tie vote meant the resolution was defeated at the Finance Committee meeting.

But Council President Carmella Mantello, a Republican, invoked a “motion to discharge” as outlined in the city code to revive the resolution for another vote on the patronage jobs. This is a rarely used section of the city code.

“If you want to keep the husband, we get to keep our person,” Mantello said.

The two appointees Mantello referred to are Keith McDermott, the husband of Councilwoman Eileen McDermott, and Sara McDermott, a GOP operative and Green Party member who worked for the Republican ticket. The McDermotts are not related.

Eileen McDermott cannot vote to reappoint her husband. That led to her abstaining during the Jan. 9 meeting.

The marshal appointments are mired in city politics, Sara McDermott filed a complaint with the city ethics board about the Rensselaer County and city Democrats investigating her collection of absentee ballots in last year’s city elections. Gary Galuski filed a criminal complaint with the city police department in December concerning the handling of absentee ballots by Republicans.

And Sara McDermott’s posting of a sex toy at eviction site that she posted on a social media site has been criticized. She said she could have shown better judgement and removed the posting.

The Democrats used their 4-3 majority to appoint John Gordon in place of Sara McDermott as a marshal. But this doesn’t mean she’s out as marshal.

The City Charter sets the minimum number of marshals at five. The charter allows additional marshals to be appointed if the council decides to do so. That’s what could happen in this case.

The five marshals named in the resolution to be voted on at the Feb. 6 council meeting are Keith McDermott, Sara McDermott, Jack McCann, Rel Teta and Alphonse Canty.

The city marshals are appointed to two-year terms for their unpaid positions. Their earnings come from being paid fees to evict people and serve legal paperwork from City Court.

Councilman Ken Zalewski, D-5th District, said all of the marshals except Sara McDermott remain in office until reappointed or replaced. He said the city charter and state law are clear on this. He said legal research showed that it had been upheld in court. Mantello disagreed with this, taking the stance that the marshals are judicial officers and need to be reappointed or they are out of office as their terms had expired.