Valley Stream appoints new village trustee

For the first time in more than a year, Valley Stream’s village board is back at full strength. Virginia Clavin-Higgins, 48, a lifelong resident of the community, was appointed its newest trustee on Monday night.

Clavin-Higgins fills the seat vacated by Ed Fare when he was elected mayor in March. Fare appointed her to the seat, whose term expires in March 2012. The village board has not had its full five-member complement since the death of Mayor Ed Cahill in July 2010.

“I really love the village,” Clavin-Higgins said. “I grew up here. I have my children here. I’m excited for the opportunity and I’m looking forward to it.”

Clavin-Higgins becomes the third woman ever to serve on the board. The first was her mother, Rosanna Clavin, who served from 1987 to 1991. (Donald Clavin, the Town of Hempstead’s receiver of taxes, who is running for re-election this year, is Virginia’s brother.)

Fare said that Clavin-Higgins’s appointment was not a political decision, and that she won the approval of both the Republican and Democratic leaders of the United Community Party, the coalition government that holds every seat on the village board. Clavin-Higgins, Fare and John Tufarelli are Republicans. Vincent Grasso and Dermond Thomas, Fare’s running mates back in March, are Democrats.

Fare insisted that the board does not think as Republicans and Democrats but rather as Valley Streamers. He said he appointed Clavin-Higgins because he expects the same governing philosophy from her. “She thinks for herself,” Fare said. “Does she answer to the political boss? No.”

Clavin-Higgins’s understanding of politics and government will make for a smooth transition, Fare said, adding that he considered several candidates for the position. He said he sought out Clavin-Higgins because she has a history of civic leadership and is fair, bright and independent.

Gary Carlton, the coalition’s Democratic leader, said he had initial reservations about a 3-2 split in favor of the Republicans. Even in the past, with five members, the board usually split 2-2, as Cahill was a registered Conservative. But after learning about and meeting Clavin-Higgins, Carlton said he believed she would be a good addition to the board. “Everybody has only good things to say about her,” he said. “I’m very comfortable with the appointment.”

In choosing a new trustee, Fare said that it was important to select a woman for the position to round out the board with a much-needed unique voice. Additionally, Fare said, he liked Clavin-Higgins because she and her husband, Kevin, have three young children, Kevin and Connor, both 12, and Deidre, 9. That means she has a vested interest in the community, he said. The children attend Holy Name of Mary School, and Clavin-Higgins is a class mother there.

Clavin-Higgins, who grew up on Beverly Parkway and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy, said she wants Valley Stream to be a place where people move in and never want to leave.

She added that she wants to ensure that Valley Stream remains an affordable place for families and seniors. She described herself as someone who is fiscally responsible and understands the financial pressures that residents face. “I budget at home,” she said. “And I know how to stretch a dollar.”

The village board makes many decisions, Clavin-Higgins noted, and she said she wants to do her homework before casting her votes. “You want to make decisions that help the people who are here now,” she said, “and that will positively impact the people who will live here in the future.”

She likes many of the steps that the current board has taken to find new activities for youth, she said. She also would like to do more for the village’s seniors, and include the residents and businesses in discussions on how to move Valley Stream forward.

A graduate of Holy Cross College and George Washington University Law School, Clavin-Higgins is a principal law clerk in Nassau County Court, working for Judge Christopher Quinn. She researches and writes opinions and decisions, is a mediator and arbitrator for Small Claims actions and supervises a team of court attorneys who provide legal advice to District Court judges and staff. She previously worked in the Nassau County district attorney’s office.

Before her appointment, Clavin-Higgins said, she received some advice from her mother and brother. Donald told her to have the courage to stand behind her convictions. And Rosanna, the former trustee, reminded her daughter that she works for the people who live in the community, and to always keep them in mind when making a decision.