Santa's back! Bellone puts up the $660

Suffolk County's Santa got his job back Friday and became a gift-wrapped political football.

In a hastily called news conference Friday, Democratic county executive candidate Steve Bellone handed a $660 check from his personal account to fired Santa David McKell, 83, so he can continue to play the role at the historic St. James General Store, which Suffolk operates.

But Bellone's bid to play Santa for Santa -- five days before Election Day -- brought an immediate humbug from a spokesman of his Republican foe, Suffolk Treasurer Angie Carpenter. GOP County Executive Steve Levy, whose budget office initially decided to dump McKell after the last nine years, called Bellone's donation "showboat grandstanding."

Support for McKell snowballed after Newsday reported Friday that Levy's budget office had decided not to rehire McKell, a former police officer and state trooper, to play Santa at the store for three weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Offers to cover McKell's salary also came from radio station WALK and Suffolk Legis. Tom Muratore (R-Ronkonkoma). But Bellone was the first to arrange to directly pay McKell -- with a check in his name with "aka Santa Claus" written next to it.

The Babylon town supervisor said the gesture was personal, not political. He noted that he and his wife have brought their daughters, Katie, 3, and Mollie, 2, to the historic 1857 store in years past. Asked why he held a news conference, Bellone said, "We have to let people know Santa will be here.

"It's been a tradition for our family for the last several years and it has been a tradition for a lot of families in Suffolk County, and to see that tradition suddenly end because the county is facing budget problems doesn't make any sense," he said.

Carpenter campaign spokesman Rob Ryan called Bellone's donation "a cheap campaign stunt."

"It shows he will say or do anything to be elected Suffolk County executive . . . even trying to drag Santa into his scam," Ryan said.

Levy said Bellone's donation shows that he does not have the "mindset" to protect the taxpayer in the current budget crunch. Bellone "has to learn that he is not going to be able to write a check when the state cuts health department aid by $20 million next year," Levy said.

He said he never intended to allow the store to go without Father Christmas; he and several aides offered to play Santa themselves. Levy said he will not interfere with Bellone's donation but would have preferred to accept WALK's offer in order "to keep the politics out."

But Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman, said Bellone was the only one to step up and resolve the problem. "I think we'll have to arrange a visit with Santa to get them in the holiday spirit," he said of the Levy administration.