Malta board member praises former town official who was at Capitol siege

MALTA – At a public meeting Monday, town board member Craig Warner praised a former town zoning board member for being at the U.S. Capitol siege on Jan. 6.

Sharon Pineo, who was photographed being led away from the Capitol by police with her hands behind her back, "did nothing wrong," said Warner at meeting's end when it was his turn to give general comments on town business. Pineo has acknowledged her presence at the Capitol, but there has been no evidence she was criminally charged.

"Over the past weeks, we have heard a lot of things about the incident in the Capitol," said Warner of Pineo, who sits on the town Republican committee. "Malta was thrust into the headlines from here to San Francisco. I want to put a little bit of a twist on that. I want to thank Sharon for being on our zoning board, helping out in town, shuttling vets, because she stood up for our rights at the Capitol. And they made an example out of her. But the thing that she did, she was standing up for everybody in town and in the country for our freedom of speech and our right to protest. She did nothing wrong. They made an example out of her and she is a prime example of many volunteers that serve hours and hours to our town. Thank you Sharon."

The statement prompted Saratoga County Democratic Chairman Todd Kerner to call for Warner's resignation.

Previously

Local official seen in photo at breach of US Capitol resigns

Malta official resigns after involvement in U.S. Capitol siege

Churchill: Message adds to season of campaign hate

“Most Saratoga County residents objected and were appalled by the insurrection that led to the deaths and hospitalizations of police officers and others,” Kerner said. “For an elected official to thank anyone associated with those actions and the broader attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election shows he is unfit to serve the public at large.  He must be called out for his comments and resign from office immediately.”

Pineo helped to organize a charter bus to the Capitol to attend the rally supporting former President Donald Trump, which preceded hundreds from the rally storming the U.S. Capitol building. In a statement to The Paul Vandenburgh Show, the Daily Gazette reported, the 70-year-old said she did not enter the Capitol nor “did I commit any violence.” The New York Times reported that she was detained after she “made it past barricades surrounding the building."

Just days after the storming of the Capitol, the Round Lake resident resigned her seat on the town's Zoning Board of Appeals. In a letter to Malta Supervisor Darren O’Connor, she wrote “it is important not to allow any impediment to the smooth operation of the town business.”

Democratic town board member Cynthia Young thought that was the end of the controversy surrounding Pineo. She said she was “surprised” that Warner brought it up again.

“I am disappointed that he chose to bring it back into the spotlight,” Young said. “We have important issues before us. It’s about the town of Malta, not the Capitol.”

Chair of the Malta Democrats Tracy DeRagon agreed, adding she was upset that Warner said Pineo was standing for Malta residents; Saratoga County voters handed the election to Democrat Joe Biden.

“I watched it over and over again, asking myself why would he say something like that,” DeRagon said. “I was very upset. I was embarrassed. I was shocked he defended her. She does not represent us and I’m appalled he would say that at a board meeting. ... If he wanted to thank her for her service, it should have been between him and her at another time.”

In an emailed statement from Malta Republican Chair Ted Willette, provided by the committee's spokesman, Willette said:

"I will call on Craig to resign when both the Saratoga County Democrat Chairman and town board member Cynthia Young ask Governor Cuomo to resign for his corruption in the nursing home death scandal as reported by the Democrat Attorney General," Willette's statement read.

Warner has been criticized before for extreme views. Back in 2016 during the last presidential election, he forwarded a racist email that listed white people who were allegedly murdered by Black people. The email read, "there is an epidemic of violence coming from the black community that seriously endangers the remainder of the population."

Warner topped the email with: “Just one of the many reasons my family supports Donald Trump."

Craig nor Pineo responded to the Times Union's requests for comment.

Republican Supervisor O’Connor said that he’s not asking Warner to step down and it’s Warner’s prerogative to make those comments.

“Once Sharon resigned from the ZBA, it was no longer a town issue,” O’Connor said. “I still don’t have the facts as to what happened. It’s impossible to make a judgement on what actually happened. Was there a breach of police line, was there a disregard of any order from police or was it part of a demonstration? Maybe Craig looked into this and has more details than I have. … I’m certainly not calling for anyone’s resignation. It’s totally his call.”