by Jerry Burke
Kearney, who served as an at-large councilman after his 1989 appointment and won the Second Councilmatic District seat in 2000, notified the board of his resignation, effective immediately, at the March 25 board meeting. "I will miss this," said Kearney in his farewell speech. "I truly will. I will miss all of you." Those at the meeting gave a standing ovation to the 60-year-old Garden City resident.
Ambrosino, 38, is a former counsel to the Nassau County Legislature's Republican caucus and was recently elected a Sanitation District 6 commissioner. It was clear that members of the Republican-controlled (a 4-1 majority) board had already tapped him before officially announcing him as a replacement at Friday's emergency meeting. "If given the honor of serving, I would accept," Ambrosino said on Tuesday. "I look forward to following in the footsteps of Joe Kearney."
Ambrosino's nomination was not without controversy. Friday's special appointment meeting was delayed nearly 30 minutes by a motion to block the board from filling the vacancy with an appointee, a motion sought by Hempstead Democratic leader Eleanor Sciglibaglio. "Only the voters in the Second District should have the right to vote for their councilperson," Sciglibaglio argued. "What you're doing may be legal, but it's certainly not ethical." Sciglibaglio and lone town board Democrat Dorothy Goosby both called for a special election.
U.S. District Judge John Gleeson, who was responsible for the landmark 1999 decision that split the town council into districts rather then at-large posts, decided to allow the board to appoint a replacement. Democrats vow to sue over the decision, alleging that the appointment violates federal election law, because none of the board members who picked Ambrosino was elected to represent Second District voters.
Councilman Anthony Santino, however, pointed out that state law prohibits the town from calling a special election, leaving the board no other choice but to appoint a candidate. "There's no other choice than to leave the seat vacant," said Santino. "And that would be wrong."
Kearney's resignation hardly came as a surprise. For months, word had been coming out of Town Hall about a search for a replacement. Earlier this year, Kearney also resigned from his post as chair of the Garden City Republican Committee. He gave no specific reason for resigning, but he plans to remain active in lesser roles.
After taking some early criticism for not being active on the local scene after the 2000 election (a responsibility not specifically required of him while he was an at-large councilman), Kearney had made it a point to work closely with civic and chamber groups. He attended many meetings in the last year and a half, answering residents' questions directly and offering an ear to the unincorporated areas he represented.
Ambrosino most recently served as counsel to Ruskin, Moscou, Faltischek, P.C. as a member of the Garden City firm's Real Estate Department and Municipal and Regulatory Affairs Group. As counsel for the Republican Caucus, he was involved in several major transactions, including the sale of the Nassau County Medical Center, the securitization of tobacco settlement proceeds and MTA financing.
The Second Councilmatic District of the Town of Hempstead includes Elmont and large portions of Franklin Square and West Hempstead, as well as all of Bellerose Terrace, Floral Park, Garden City, Garden City South, the incorporated area of New Hyde Park, South Floral Park, Stewart Manor, and portions of Bellerose and North Valley Stream. Ambrosino's seat is next up for re-election in 2004.
Also at the meeting, the board appointed Republican Mark Bonilla, a Seaford lawyer, as Murray's replacement as town clerk, a post left open since she stepped into Guardino's office in January.
