Hempstead Town Likely To Appoint New Councilman Next Week

Despite protestations from the Town Supervisor, the Hempstead Town Board is likely to appoint Thomas E. Muscarella to the board to fill the seat vacated by former Councilman Edward Ambrosino.

Ambrosino pleaded guilty last week to federal tax evasion charges. Because of that, he can no longer serve on the Hempstead Town Board. Members on the board have proposed Muscarella for the seat, and will vote on appointing him at the April 16 meeting. Ambrosino had already declared he wasn't going to run for reelection, and Muscarella was already running for his seat.

Town Suerpvisor Laura Gillen, a Democrat, has spent her tenure railing against the practice of appointing people to fill positions on the board, trying instead to get laws passed that would call for a special election to let the voters decide.

“This proposal is unquestionably a move to unfairly influence the outcome of the November election. It grants unearned incumbency to the Republican machine’s declared candidate and disenfranchises every resident in the district from choosing their own representative. It’s disgraceful and un-American," said Gillen. “The Town of Hempstead has a long and shameful history of appointing Republican party stalwarts to seats they have not earned. When officials representing other districts substitute their voices for the residents in the district, democracy loses.”

All of the four current Republican members of the Town Board were first appointed to their seats, Gillen said, before they were elected by votes. Opponents of the practice say it gives the appointed members the weight of incumbency when running for their first elections. Dorothy Goosby, the sole Democrat on the board, was elected to her seat.

“State law provides for appointments so that town board seats are not left vacant and residents remain represented," the board members wrote in a statement. "We are following the lead of municipalities across New York State, including our neighbor -- Town of North Hempstead. The cost of a special election would be prohibitive, especially in this case where there will be an election for the seat in November."

If appointed, Muscarella would represent the town's Second District, which includes Bellerose Terrace, Floral Park, Garden City, Garden City South, the incorporated area of New Hyde Park, Salisbury, South Floral Park, Stewart Manor, and portions of Bellerose, East Meadow, Elmont, Franklin Square, Hempstead, Uniondale and West Hempstead.