On July 15th, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, a Republican, publicly declared he was going to veto a bill that would put term limits on his office and on the county comptroller. Hours later, he accidentally signed it into law and sent it off to the county legislature. Nineteen minutes later, he realized his mistake and sent another message to the county legislature, saying he had vetoed the bill he had originally signed.

However, the county charter says that McMahon is SOL and that the first sending is the one that counts:

“Whatever we received first by electronic commission transmission in New York State is considered to be legally binding,” Watts told the outlet, citing section 210 of the county’s charter. She added, “That is our responsibility.”

Now, the county election commissioners, one Republican and one Democrat, are in disagreement on how to proceed. The Democrat wants to put it on the books as the law requires, but the Republican is balking at that. The matter will likely end up in court. The Republicans feel confident that they will prevail since it was a mistake.

While I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on the Internet, I have watched cases like this. Every time, it comes down to what the law says, not its intent. Enjoy your term limits, Mr. McMahon. Besides, I thought Republicans were all for term limits. I guess they meant for people besides themselves.