Schneiderman’s Quiet Day One
Bagpipers and members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation helped usher in Jay Schneiderman’s first day as Southampton Town Supervisor on Tuesday, but the fanfare ended there. While an organizational meeting followed the swearing-in ceremony, Mr. Schneiderman postponed a number of important appointments, deciding to wait until after a special election later this month to fill an unexpected vacancy on the town board. Whether the board’s majority will be Democratic or Republican depends on that election.
It is not quite the way Mr. Schneiderman thought he would start his term. Having served a 12-year term limit on the Suffolk County Legislature, he was elected supervisor on the Independence and Democratic lines in November, along with John Bouvier, who became the newest town councilman on Tuesday. Just weeks later, Brad Bender, a Democrat, resigned his town board seat amid drug-related charges.
The situation left the board split 2-2. Councilman Stan Glinka, in the midst of a two-year term, and Councilwoman Christine Scalera, who was re-elected in November, are Republicans.
Before Mr. Schneiderman’s predecessor, Anna Throne-Holst, left office, the board scheduled the special election for Jan. 26, in the 60-to-90-day window mandated by state law. Richard W. Yastrzemski, a Republican who ran against Mr. Schneiderman for supervisor, and Julie Lofstad, a Democrat who was Mr. Bouvier’s running-mate, are vying for the position.
“We don’t have a full board,” Mr. Schneiderman said Tuesday from his new office, implying that he may not have the support for some of the appointments he hopes to make for review boards and for the job of town attorney. Tiffany Scarlato, who has been town attorney since 2011 but was not tapped to remain in office, handed in her resignation this week and is using up her vacation time until she leaves on Friday, Jan. 15. Kathleen Murray, the deputy town attorney, is acting town attorney for now.
Mr. Schneiderman said he was looking outside Town Hall for a replacement. He said there was one candidate, a woman, whom he described as bipartisan, “highly credentialed‚“ and “someone who would make a superb town attorney,” but declined to name her. Mr. Bouvier and Mr. Glinka have spoken to her, he said, and Ms. Scalera will speak to her, but “whether Republicans on the town board are willing to embrace her . . .” He trailed off. “We’re working on it.”
NancyLynn Schurr Thiele, the wife of Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., is rumored to be the candidate. A lawyer who was admitted to the bar in 1992, she is counsel to the office of the New York State Senate Majority. She said yesterday that she had submitted her resume and been interviewed, but had heard nothing as yet.
Mr. Schneiderman said it was possible that he will ask for a vote on the appointment before the special election, but only if he knows he has three votes. Other appointments, to land-use boards, he will put off entirely. “I’m not going to even try.” Instead, all current members will be held over even if their terms have expired.
The supervisor said he was looking to shake things up and bring in some new faces, people whom he considers future leaders of the town. “Those appointments have a history of sometimes being partisan,” he said. “I’m certainly looking to put on people I feel are best qualified.”
Mr. Schneiderman formerly served as East Hampton Town supervisor and the chairman of the town’s zoning board. He recently moved from Montauk, where he still owns property and a motel, and is building a house in Southampton Village. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and other officials, including Mr. Thiele and County Legislator Bridget Fleming, a former town board member, attended the swearing-in ceremony. “I’m really excited about the opportunities that exist here,” Mr. Bellone, a Democrat, said. “We will be a partner in the things that you want to do here, that you envision on water quality, which we all care so deeply about.”
Afterward, the first town board meeting of 2016 barely saw a quorum, as Councilwoman Scalera, who broke her arm in two places in an ice-skating accident over the holidays, was not in attendance. Sundy Schermeyer, the town clerk, swore in Ms. Scalera for a second term at her home. She hopes to be back to work next week.
Her absence, and the vacancy on the board, caused some issues with routine banking matters: Mr. Glinka had to recuse himself from resolutions involving Bridgehampton National Bank, of which he is a vice president.
Frank Zappone will remain deputy supervisor, a position he held during Ms. Throne-Holst’s six-year tenure, though his appointment was not finalized. Leonard Marchese, the town comptroller, was one of the few who received a formal appointment on Tuesday. Mr. Schneiderman, noting the sound financial situation he is inheriting and the town’s AAA financial rating, told Mr. Marchese that “It’s great to have somebody of your skill.”
“I’m impressed with the dedication and professionalism of the town management team,” the new supervisor said after he was sworn in. “I look forward to working with all the town employees who work in this great town, from those who plow our roads during a snowstorm, to the crews who keep our parks in shape, to the people who help feed our seniors at our nutritional centers.”
Correction: Nancy Lynn Schurr Thiele is not the chairwoman of the Southampton Independence Party, but rather her husband, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. is the chairman of that party.