Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone names first female county labor commissioner

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone nominated the county’s first-ever female labor commissioner Thursday.

Rosalie Drago, Long Island regional director of the nonprofit Workforce Development Institute, would lead the county's Labor, Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department if approved by the Suffolk Legislature, officials said.

“This is an opportunity to leverage what I have learned about the workforce ecosystem across Long Island and (New York State) and invest that in Suffolk County,” Drago, 47, of Greenlawn, said in a statement.

Drago, who previously worked for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, will make $175,288 a year, the same as former labor commissioner Frank Nardelli, who will step down Feb. 14, a county official said. 

Drago's appointment was one of a dozen announced by Bellone’s administration this week. Their average salary is $134,351, with pay ranging from $70,966 to $200,000, according to county figures. 

Half the appointees announced this week are women, Bellone said. A quarter of all appointees announced in recent weeks, including a chief diversity officer, are people of color, he said.

“These new appointments continue my commitment to recruit talented individuals that make our county administration more diverse while actually reducing the cost to taxpayers,” Bellone said in a statement.

Tahir Shamim will serve as the county’s human resource director — a position that long has been vacant — with a salary of $145,429. She most recently was a senior human resources director for the nonprofit charter school organization Uncommon Schools.

Joe Brown, Long Island regional director for the state Department of Transportation, was picked as commissioner of the Department of Public Works. Brown will be paid $200,000 a year, $16,804 more than predecessor Gil Anderson, who left in 2018.

Jason Elan, who consulted for Belone's recent reelection campaign, campaign, is the new deputy county executive for communications and external affairs and will make $167,797, up from his prior salary of $135,381 as Bellone's director of communications. 

Derek Poppe, who served as Bellone’s campaign manager, will take Elan's place as director of communications and make $124,079, up from his prior salary of $104, 739.

The appointments — some of which must be approved by the legislature — are expected to save a total of $60,000 through some appointees, including Elan and Poppe, taking lower salaries than their predecessors. 

Other recent appointments by Bellone include:

• Thomas Melito, deputy county executive of performance management, as acting personnel officer at a salary of $183,196, roughly the same as his previous salary.

• Dennis Brown, the Suffolk County attorney, who was nominated as Director of Real Property Tax Services at a salary of $145,560. His current salary is $173,226.

•Dr. Shaheda Iftikhar, director of public health, as Deputy Commissioner of Department of Health Services at a salary of $183,196, the same as her predecessor's.

• Rebecca Sinclair, deputy chief of staff to former Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen, as deputy commissioner of economic development and planning at a salary of $148,248 — $6,539 more than her predecessor's.

• MaryKate Guilfoyle, a Bellone spokeswoman, was appointed Deputy Director of Communications at a salary of $70,966 — $33,773 less than her predecessor's.

By Rachelle Blidner

rachelle.blidner@newsday.com@rachelleblidner

Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County government, politics and breaking news.