New commissioner for Oceanside Fire District

Vincent Staffa won the post of Oceanside Fire Commissioner after the election on Dec. 8. Staffa received 496 votes, while opponent Tom Pellegrino received 388.

Staffa said that as Commissioner, he would look over ways to maintain the budget in light of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s tax cap on municipalities, which he said has put stress on Fire District finances. “With the help of the four current commissioners… I’m hoping [to get] more for the district and community without breaking the bank,” he said.

The campaign for Fire Commissioner became contencious at times, especially when the anonymous Facebook page Oceanside People Electing New Commissioners for the Community accused Staffa of being associated with former Oceanside Sanitation supervisor and consultant Michael Scarlata. The Sanitaiton District recently terminated Scarlata’s consulting contract after a state comptroller’s audit said that Scarlata and his son, Charles, collected.

Pellegrino said that those statements did not reflect his campaign. “We do not condone or support any of it,” he said on Facebook of the comments. “The focus should be on the issues at hand, which both candidates have made their priorities - the well being of the Oceanside community and the betterment of the Oceanside Fire District. We encourage everyone to keep this campaign positive.”

Staffa had a similar sentiment. “My thing was one from day one to run a clean campaign,” he said. “You do your best you say positive things about yourself, we didn’t say anything negative about the other candidate. That’s the way I’d like to keep it honestly.”