By Thomas Montana
Hempstead residents, local elected officials and candidates for office rallied outside Town Hall on July 1 before the start of the town board meeting to protest the Town Board’s secret appointment of a new supervisor. However, the supervisor’s office said it is not true.
During the rally, which was hosted by Democrat Town Supervisor candidate Joe Scianablo, protestors accused the town board of secretly replacing the current town supervisor, Donald X. Clavin Jr with Nassau County Legislator John Ferretti (R-Glen Cove).
Ferretti — who is the Republican town supervisor candidate — would be the new supervisor instead of Deputy Supervisor and Senior Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby (D-Hempstead), according to Scianablo. It was rumored that Clavin was stepping down before the end of his term.
“Republicans are hoping to quietly slip John Ferretti into the supervisor seat today with a last-minute emergency resolution,” Scianablo said. “This is a rigged power grab to make Ferretti supervisor now so he can run as the incumbent until November. That’s not democracy. It’s a political scam.”
The town board meeting did not include the transition of power, The Long Island Press reported.
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the town for comment. Brian Devine, the town’s communications director, said Scianablo’s accusations are false and Clavin has no plans to step down.
“Today’s press conference is nothing more than another cheap political stunt by Joe Scianablo, and a hypocritical one at that, given his silence over the long-standing practice of political appointments to the town board by the former Democrat majority in the Town of Hempstead,” said Devine. “Supervisor Clavin, on the other hand, is focused on his day-to-day work as Supervisor of America’s largest township.”