Valley Stream board of trustees to name interim mayor

Following the death of Valley Stream's longtime mayor, the village's board of trustees will appoint a successor to serve until the March election, according to village officials.

The vacancy created by Mayor Edward Cahill's death last week means that deputy mayor Joann Antun is the ranking official until the board names an interim mayor, village clerk Vincent Ang said Thursday. State law determines how village boards fill such vacancies and how long such appointees shall serve.

Cahill had served since 1999. Because his term was set to expire in March, the successor will serve until then, Ang said. The offices of mayor and two trustees will be on the March ballot.

The four trustees are expected to vote on a successor at a village board meeting next month, Ang said.

The appointee must be a village resident and does not have to hold public office. Nevertheless, he said, interim mayors are generally selected from among village trustees.

Two other sitting mayors in Valley Stream have died during their terms, Ang said. Mayor Charles Monica died in 1970, and a trustee was named to succeed him. When Mayor Tom Ward died in 1979, the board of trustees chose the village justice to serve the remainder of the term.

One of the village's current trustees, Vincent Grasso, was appointed to fill a vacancy created last year by the death of longtime trustee Guido Cirenza, Ang said.