Sources: LIA names Kevin Law of LIPA as new chief

Kevin Law, the Long Island Power Authority chief executive, is expected to be named Wednesday the new president of the Long Island Association, the region's largest business and civic group, three sources familiar with the selection said Tuesday night.

Law was recommended by a search committee and the full association board is expected to vote on his appointment Wednesday. If approved, Law's hiring will be announced Wednesday and he will attend the association's annual black tie dinner Friday. A source close to the selection said he may not start until September, leaving LIPA time to find a replacement.

Law would replace Matthew Crosson, who had been LIA president for 16 years before stepping down in mid-March to become president of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

Law was among several prominent Long Islanders considered for the post. Among them were state Sen. Charles Fuschillo; Mitch Pally, a former LIA vice president and an attorney now in private practice; John Kominicki, publisher of Long Island Business News; and David Manning, a former executive vice president at National Grid.

Law and Katherine Heaviside, a spokeswoman for the LIA's search committee, could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. Law would have to step down from LIPA to take the LIA job.

Pally Tuesday night confirmed that he did not get the position. "I support them in whichever direction they want to go," he said, "and I'll leave it at that."

Pally, who had spent nearly two decades with the LIA, was viewed as the favorite.

A person familiar with the process said Manning is being considered for the top LIPA spot. He joined the M.J. Bradley consulting firm in Manhattan after leaving National Grid. He was not available for comment last night.

Law, who took over as LIPA chief executive for Richard Kessel in October 2007, joined LIPA after a stint as deputy county executive under Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy.

He walked a delicate balancing act at LIPA, eliminating bonuses for 100 LIPA employees while taking a salary of just under $300,000. He canceled plans for a 40-turbine wind farm off the coast of Jones Beach as too expensive and controversial, only to initiate plans for a new, larger, more expensive project off the coast of the Rockaways and western Nassau.

Crosson had announced in November that he would be leaving the LIA in less than a year. Many were surprised on March 16 when it was revealed that he was to become president and chief executive of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, nationally one of the largest groups of its type.