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Fair East Rockaway Trustee Villacci resigns
East Rockaway village board member hands in her resignation
Irene Villacci, 46, an East Rockaway village trustee since 2005, resigned from the board on Monday.
“My family and friends wanted me to step down after [Mayor Ed Sieban’s] death last July,” Villacci said. “They knew that Richard Meagher and I were committed to carrying out our fight for open government. When the election was over, I knew I had lost much quality time with my family and friends that I had to make up.”
In a letter of resignation hand-delivered to Mayor Fran Lenahan just hours before the village’s reorganization meeting, Villacci wrote that she “could no longer continue the term of my office” as trustee. She added that she was well aware that Lenahan’s Pride Party supporters might consider her resignation a victory, and that she hoped Lenahan would consider her replacement carefully.
“Please keep in mind your own stated desires for all residents to work together, and choose someone who transcends political restraints,” Villacci wrote, pointing out that 45 percent of the electorate expressed a lack of confidence in Lenahan’s potential as a leader. “In memory of a time when I remember you as a close friend and colleague, I wish you well in your tenure as mayor. God bless our village and its people.”
Villacci, a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy, Molloy College and Hofstra University School of Law, served with mayors Joseph Carrigan and Sieban until Sieban’s death last summer. She most recently served on the board with Deputy Mayor Richard Meagher.
“I had the honor of serving with two dedicated mayors and the finest deputy mayor,” Villacci said. “No one has loved this village more than those three fine men. I learned much from them, and I will always be grateful to them for taking me under their wings.”
Her fellow trustees, Lenahan and Bruno Romano, are now the newly elected and newly appointed mayor and deputy mayor, respectively.
Villacci served as the liaison to the Department of Public Works, the Ethics Board, the Library Board, the Tree Advisory Committee, the village’s houses of worship, the Special Events Committee and the CATV Committee. She is a member of the Recodification and Negotiations committees, and was recently vice president of the Village Foundation of East Rockaway.
