Who will be Valley Stream's mayor?

It will be at least a month before the village board decides who will serve as the next mayor of Valley Stream, following the death of Ed Cahill on July 31.

Cahill, the mayor for 11 years, was diagnosed with a brain tumor five months ago, and despite intensive treatment, he succumbed to his illness. Deputy Mayor Joanne Antun had been leading the board while Cahill was sick, and she will continue to do so until the board chooses a successor.

In such circumstances, the deputy mayor assumes all of the mayor’s powers, and Antun could continue in that role for some time. One of the board’s options is to operate with a four-member board, with Antun as its senior member, until the village election next year.

The board could also appoint a new mayor, which would require the approval of at least three trustees. Cahill’s successor would most likely come from the Board of Trustees, but that is not a requirement for filling the job.

Cahill was the third sitting mayor in Valley Stream to die in office. In November 1970, when Mayor Charles Monica died, board Trustee Harry Reid was appointed and served for the remainder of Monica’s term, through March 1971. In the other instance, the board chose another elected official. Mayor Tom Ward died shortly after taking office in 1979, and long-time Village Justice Frank Furey was appointed to take his place. Furey then won a special election in 1980, and served the remaining three years of the term.

Because Cahill’s seat is set to expire in less than a year, the village will not have to hold a special election. “The term is ending in March,” Village Clerk Vinny Ang said, “so we would be having an election anyway.”

In addition to the mayor’s seat, two trustee seats and the village justice are up for election in March 2011, all for four-year terms.

Ang said that the board would make a decision on the mayor’s successor no earlier than its September board meeting. “We’re still in a period of mourning,” he said. “There’s no urgency here because we’ve been operating and it’s been fine.”

A month after Deputy Mayor Guido Cirenza died last October, Cahill promoted Antun to deputy mayor, but he waited until January to fill the vacant trustee seat.

Ang noted that Valley Stream is observing a 30-day mourning period for Cahill, with the flags at all village facilities flying at half-staff during that time.

During the mourning period, Antun explained, the board will not discuss how it will fill the seat. She emphasized that the absence of a mayor is not affecting village operations. “The four-member board has functioned well,” she said.

That the board does so, Antun added, is largely a testament to Cahill. “The cohesiveness of the board is because Ed treated us all as individuals,” she said, “and recognized our individual strengths.”