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Mark Farrell, who had previously held the seat, handed in his letter of resignation last week due to medical concerns. The deadline for the open seat to be on November's general election ballot was Sept. 20, and Farrell's letter of resignation came in on Sept. 22.

There has been tension over how best to fill the seat, as the Cayuga County Republican Committee and the town of Brutus Republican Committee called on the Legislature, in a release sent out early Monday, to hold a special election rather than stick with the precedent of appointing someone.

Batman had said that he did not want to leave the seat vacant until the next election, and was considering potential options for an appointment. Batman and Minority Leader Michael Didio had said last week a special election would not be desirable due to the timing around county budget discussions and the cost.

But Jeff Herrick, chairman for the Cayuga County Republican Committee, said Monday the 4,500 residents of Brutus should be able to elect a replacement, rather than having "a political appointee handpicked by Cayuga County Democrat Committee party bosses." While he understands Didio's perspective from his legislative standpoint, Herrick felt the cost and timing of a special election shouldn't matter more than fair and equal representation.

But the Cayuga County Board of Elections said according to New York Public Officers Law, vacancies are supposed to be filled by an appointment. Since Farrell's resignation came after this year's election deadline, the appointment would serve until next year's election. In November 2017, residents will be able to vote for a new legislator for the remaining two years of the term. The only time a special election could be held is if there was a tie vote for an appointee. Then Gov. Andrew Cuomo would have to call for a special election, setting a date with at least 78 days notice. The board also said the county would not be responsible for the costs of the election, which they estimated to be between $3,500 and $4,000. The costs would be shouldered by the town of Brutus.

When seats have become prematurely vacant in the past, precedent has been an appointment. The town of Brutus has faced this situation before. In 2002, Republicans appointed Ann Petrus to represent the town of Brutus to replace Legislator Earl Lamphere. Current sitting Legislator Tucker Whitman was also a Republican appointment in 2011, replacing former Legislator Christopher Palermo representing the towns of Victory and Sterling.

"Jeff (Herrick) seems misinformed about the history of Cayuga County, as well as the position of his own Republican caucus," Batman said in a phone interview Monday. "If he goes back and looks at the history of filling seats, there have been four or five vacancies in the last 20 years, maybe. Those have always been filled by appointment. The only difference now is the Republicans are in the minority, and now they want to change the rules, and change the process, and change how it's been done."

Herrick said he couldn't speak about what was done in the past. He said Batman and other legislators are not from Brutus, and by not holding a special election, they are undermining democracy.

"I'm speaking about now," he said before the announcement of Kyle's appointment. "The people of Brutus should pick their legislator. There are plenty of people prior to me. I can't speak for other county chairs. I want to see the people of Brutus represented."

Ian Phillips, committee chairman for the Cayuga County Democratic Committee, said Herrick's concerns were politicizing an issue that already seems resolved between the two parties on the Legislature.

"I trust that they're going to try to find someone who can serve Brutus well," Phillips said.

In his announcement Monday evening, Batman said Kyle grew up working on a dairy farm in Weedsport, attending Weedsport High School and later Davidson College. He currently manages several family businesses including KyleCroft Development, which has rehabilitated Auburn鈥檚 Brister Mills building into apartments and recently purchased the HSBC building and 鈥淣olan Block,鈥� according to Batman鈥檚 release.

In addition, Kyle serves on several nonprofit boards including Auburn Public Theater, HomSite and the Cayuga Museum. Besides his service, Kyle鈥檚 family has donated 3.5 acres to the town of Brutus to expand Aqueduct Park.

Batman said legislators will hear from Kyle at Tuesday night鈥檚 Legislature meeting. Hoping to appoint someone sooner rather than later so that the town of Brutus can be represented in county budget discussions, Batman said he is looking forward to the meeting.

鈥淗is (Kyle鈥檚) energy, business background, and commitment to the county will serve Weedsport and the Town of Brutus well as we head into difficult budget discussions,鈥� Batman said in the release.

Herrick urged Brutus residents to attend the Cayuga County Legislature meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27 in the Sixth Floor Chambers of the Cayuga County Office Building to demand a special election.

It was not clear Monday night if the full Legislature planned to vote on appointing Kyle.