Assemb. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood) in  July 2017.

Assemb. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood) in July 2017. Credit: Barry Sloan

The daughter of Assemb. Phil Ramos will lose $92,669 in annual salary after her demotion Monday at the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

The move came after Ramos’ wife, Angela, in September lost a Democratic primary for Suffolk County Legislature to Legis. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood).

Replacing the Ramos’ daughter is Martinez’s sister-in-law, Marisol Martinez, 54, who is married to Babylon Town Board member and Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez. Tony Martinez is a key ally of Suffolk Democratic chairman Rich Schaffer, who also is Babylon Town supervisor.

Tina Ramos, 36, the Democrats’ $138,663-a-year Hispanic outreach coordinator, will move into a $45,994-a-year job as assistant elections clerk March 1. She has worked at the board since 2003 and held the coordinator’s post since 2012.

Schaffer said the shift simply was part of a reorganization by Democratic elections Commissioner Anita Katz.

“There’s no story,” said Schaffer. “We deal with primaries on the field and only on the field.”

Several Republicans saw the elections board move as politically motivated. “I like Monica and I like Richie, but for him to say it’s just reorganization, to me, it appears more like to the victors go the spoils,” said Legis. Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst).

Phil, Angela and Tina Ramos did not return calls for comment.

Monica and Tony Martinez said they were unaware of Marisol Martinez’s promotion.

Martinez beat Angela Ramos by 66 percent to 34 in the primary.

Katz said the demotion was one of several moves, including promotions for three other election officials to fill vacancies due to retirements.

She said Marisol Martinez, who has worked at the board for three years, will move up from assistant elections clerk. “She speaks fluent Spanish, can read fluently in Spanish and has a background as a community organizer working for Catholic Charities. That’s the direction I chose to go in,” said Katz.

Katz declined to comment on Ramos’ job performance or any possible political implications of the switch.

The Suffolk Board of Elections has both a Republican and a Democratic commissioner. The Suffolk board’s 123-member staff is equally divided between the parties to oversee operations of local elections; the 123rd employee is a nonpolitical computer expert.

The two election commissioners are appointed by the county legislature on the recommendation of each party leader. Board jobs are exempt from Civil Service rules and are filled by political recommendation.

Brookhaven GOP chairman Jesse Garcia holds the Hispanic outreach job title for Republicans. The positions are required under the federal Help America Vote Act.

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