Valley Stream Village fill trustee vacancy

Valley Stream Village has named Virginia Clavin-Higgins to fill a trustee vacancy created when Edwin A. Fare was elected mayor in March, following the death of former Mayor Edward Cahill in July 2010.

Clavin-Higgins, 48, who was appointed last week, will serve the remainder of Fare's term, which ends in March. At that point, there will be an election for a full four-year term. She will be paid a yearly salary of $13,500, village officials said.

"She is very bright, and takes a no-nonsense approach when it comes to the law and the important matters that have a direct effect on the quality of life here in our village," Fare said in a statement.

Clavin-Higgins, a former Nassau County assistant district attorney, is principal law clerk to county District Court Judge Christopher Quinn, as well as acting attorney in charge at the District Court law department.

"I know how hard it can be to be in government," said Clavin-Higgins, who worked on Fare's mayoral campaign. "You have to be very receptive to people's needs. People deserve answers and they need to know how government works."

As a trustee, Clavin-Higgins said she would work to make the village park safer and create more programs for children and senior citizens while keeping in mind budgetary constraints.

"My concerns are the families in the village," she said. "I want to make sure that they are happy."

Clavin-Higgins follows in the footsteps of her mother, Rosanna Clavin, who served as the first female Valley Stream trustee from 1987 to 1991. Her late father, Donald X. Clavin Sr., was a District Court judge for many years, and her brother Donald X. Clavin Jr. is the Town of Hempstead's Receiver of Taxes.