Mangano riles veterans with agency pick

For the second time in 13 months, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano has angered area veteran leaders by replacing the director of the county's Veterans Service Agency.

Michael Kilbride, a caseworker for the agency for more than a decade, will replace acting director Pat Yngstrom.

The decision has rankled leaders with United Veterans Organization, a consortium of 30 local veterans groups. They said Yngstrom was an energetic leader whose seven-member staff was effective in focusing government and volunteer assistance on the needs of veterans.

Frank Colon, the UVO's sergeant at arms, said Kilbride lacks the managerial skills to run the agency. He said Mangano did not ask the organization's input even though the head of the UVO sits on a county advisory panel. "We're not happy," Colon said. "They've made this job political."

Mangano did not consider Yngstrom to be effective, said Brian Nevin, a Mangano senior adviser. "We felt the communications with our veterans community about the services we offered were not reaching as many people as we could," he said.

Nevin said Mangano chose not to look outside of the agency's seven-member staff when he tapped Kilbride for the $81,500-per-year job.

"It's a sign to our staff that there are promotional opportunities within the agency," Nevin said.

Kilbride, a claims counselor at the agency since 1995, served in the active-duty Marines from 1990 to 1994, according to his resume. Kilbride told Newsday he served in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.

Kilbride's resume says he attended Nassau Community College, but does not say when, or list a degree.

Mangano drew criticism from veterans groups last January when he replaced former veterans agency chief Ed Aulman with Mathew J. Rufrano. Yngstrom, a longtime Aulman aide, took over as acting director after Rufrano left.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated that Rufrano was replaced after his death.