Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Greene County Legislature Government Operations Committee June 15, approved a resolution calling for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to loosen his grip on local government and allow the county to return to a form of pre-pandemic normalcy. The measure was put forward by Catskill representative Matthew Luvera and Cairo representative William Lawrence, both Republicans, and it received a mixed response. Eventually, the resolution was approved on a vote of 6 to 3, with Republicans Charles Martinez, Harry Lennon and Patrick Linger casting the dissenting votes. “Greene County has done an amazing job at keeping the infection rates very low,” Lawrence said. “We’re lumped in with the Capital District which hasn’t been any benefit.” A proposal to look at the counties on a more local level has been rejected, Linger said. The intent behind the resolution is to restore power to local municipalities, Lawrence said. “I have not had COVID,” he said. “I may get it. I may die from it. I would not blame the governor for that. I will blame myself if I stand by and submit to the hypocrisy.” Linger said he wants to get input from the public health department on the resolution, adding that while Greene County’s numbers are good, he is concerned by the numbers in other areas that have reopened. On a related note: a photo taken by Trafton during the meeting shows the lawmakers debating the resolution, in person at the county office building in Catskill on Monday night. Of the 13 people pictured, fewer than half are masked. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.