Republicans call on Ed Mangano to resign

County Executive Ed Mangano faced a rebuke from his own party on Monday following his eighth State of the County address, with top Republicans publicly calling for his resignation.

Mangano, a Republican, was indicted on federal corruption charges last October, and has pleaded not guilty. However, Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves, of East Meadow, took to the front steps of the Legislative Building in Mineola, along with other Republican legislators, just before their Rules Committee meeting, to announce that they had sent Mangano a letter asking him to resign immediately.

Legislators were careful to note that their request was not a judgment of Mangano's guilt or innocence, but a reflection of the “cloud” that the indictment had put over the county executive's office.

“He has continuously maintained his innocence ... We wish him well and hope that he is able to prove his innocence,” Deputy Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello, a New Hyde Park Republican, said at the Rules Committee meeting.

Monday's announcement marked the first public rebuke of Mangano by the Republican majority.

Democratic Legislator Laura Curran, of Baldwin, who is running for Mangano's seat, also accused him of painting a “dream-come-true utopia that's free of corruption,” in a statement following his speech.

“No amount of sugar-coating can hide the rampant corruption, parade of indictments, empty promises, and colossal mismanagement [of his administration],” she added.

During the Rules Committee meeting after the Republicans' news conference, Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams, a Freeport Democrat, asked that the committee to table all contracts and related business, based on the Republicans' call for Mangano to resign.

“It seems inappropriate for us to move forward with contracts or bonding in light of this position you have recently shared,” he said. “[We should] table all contracts today until our five taxpayer protection bills are called to the floor.”

The committee voted down Abrahams's motion, with Nicolello insisting that despite whatever happens with the county executive, the Legislature, and the committee, must continue to do their jobs.

Mangano shot back at the Republicans on social media later in the afternoon, saying their call for his resignation was "election season nonsense" and a "cheap political stunt."

Mangano also accused Gonsalves herself of violating state election law 33 times. "Unlike Norma Gonsalves, I have never been convicted of any wrongdoing. For the past seven years, I have effectively governed Nasau County, and will continue to do so, as outlined in my State of the County address," Mangano said.

The post was later deleted.

Republican Legislator Steve Rhoads, who represents Freeport, Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh and Seaford, joined Gonsalves in calling for Mangano’s resignation, and later told the Herald that “People need to have confidence that their elected officials are working for them, and understandably, that confidence has been shaken.”

“We gave him almost six months to be able to address those issues, and while we still believe that you’re innocent until proven guilty, the reality is that every single day it becomes more and more difficult for us to do the business of the people with a cloud of suspicion over the chief executive of the county,” he said.

After Mangano made it clear Monday afternoon that he would not be resigning, Rhoads said that it “just brings into focus” that it was incumbent upon him and his colleagues to take action.

However, “We can only suggest,” he said. “We don’t have the ability legally to remove a sitting county executive. We would’ve hoped that he would’ve come to this conclusion on his own when it became apparent that these charges weren’t just going to go away.”

Rhoads added that Mangano’s situation is “unfortunate,” as the county executive and Republican legislative majority have much to be proud of.

“There’s a lot of great work that’s been done that, unfortunately, no one gets to focus on because of everything that’s transpiring,” he said.

“My job is not to protect Ed Mangano; it’s to protect the county,” he concluded.