Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's appointments blocked as term nears end
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's nine appointments to boards and commissions were tabled this week by Republicans who control the county legislature. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Members of the Suffolk County Legislature’s Republican majority said this week they will no longer approve committee and board appointments made by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, a Democrat who leaves office at the end of the year.
Republicans, who have an 11-7 majority, tabled nine appointments for county boards and commissions this week and said they would do the same for future appointments by Bellone so the new county executive could make them after taking office next year. Republican Edward P. Romaine and Democrat Dave Calone are running in November to replace Bellone, who is term limited in December after 12 years in office.
Legislative Democrats said the Republicans' decision to hold up the appointments breaks with tradition and could impede government functions.
Legislative Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said some board and commission members' terms had expired several years ago and that Bellone was making a “flurry” of appointments in his final months.
“We want to give the option to the next county executive to decide who should be on these boards and committees,” McCaffrey said. “We don't think that it will hurt county government or the operation of these committees by keeping these people as holdover appointments until the next county executive.”
Bellone, through spokeswoman Nicole Russo, declined to comment.
Legis. Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon), the legislature’s minority leader, said he was concerned about “continuity of government” and what would happen if there are new vacancies and boards cannot reach quorums. He said it could be months before a new county executive would be ready to make appointments.
“I don't think that means that we stop having government moves because there's going to be a change,” Richberg said. “That hasn't happened in the history of the county. So, why would we do this now?”
Among the tabled appointments are five to the county’s Human Rights Commission, which investigates housing and employment discrimination complaints and received the authority earlier this year to accept allegations of police misconduct from the public.
Bellone had sought to reappoint Lynda Perdomo-Ayala as the Human Rights Commission's chairwoman and reappoint members Lina Zerbarini, Luis Valenzuela, Brooke Ellison and Elizabeth Bojsza to terms that would run from June 1 through May 31, 2026. The appointments were tabled during the Government Operations, Personnel, IT and Diversity Committee meeting Wednesday.
“I believe doing it now would interfere with the election process, and we shouldn't do that as [the] legislature,” the committee’s chair, Legis. Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville), said during the meeting.
Michelle Zarifis, Bellone’s director of intergovernmental relations, said all five members’ terms expired May 31 and should be extended.
“Given the importance of the work that they're doing right now, we don't want them to feel disassociated from the mission" of the commission, Zarifis said.
Former Suffolk County Executive Pat Halpin, a Democrat who served from 1988 to 1991, said in the past many appointments received bipartisan support. He said such jobs can be hard to fill because many are volunteer positions that require the filing of financial disclosure forms.
“You're looking to get the best people who are willing to give their time and expertise to serve on the boards,” Halpin said. "Frankly, there are plenty of times to play politics. This shouldn't be one of them."
Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
