Southampton Town OKs new comptroller

Following a month of interviews and two weeks after delaying a decision, Southampton Town has approved a new comptroller.

Leonard J. Marchese, a certified public accountant and director of management and research for the Suffolk County Department of Health for the past 14 years, was approved unanimously by the town board at a special meeting Friday.

Marchese served as director of finance for Huntington Town from 1986 to 1996, a job akin to town comptroller.

At a March 9 special meeting, the town board publicly interviewed what it called its two top candidates -- C. Omarr Evans, a municipal financial consultant from Binghamton, and John Morris, the former comptroller for Smithtown Town -- for the job that had been vacant for a month. A decision on whether to hire either candidate was postponed because of differences of opinion among board members.

As he waited Friday afternoon for the vote to take place, Marchese said in an interview he emailed his resume to the town after hearing about the job, and was surprised to receive a call from Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst about an hour later. "I am looking forward to working here," he said. "I have a lot to offer the town, I think."

Throne-Holst agreed, saying Marchese worked on some substantial projects for the county, which fit the needs of the town. "He also came very highly recommended," she said.

"I'm glad the board took the time to interview all candidates," Councilman Christopher Nuzzi said. "I'm happy we came to this conclusion."

Councilman James Malone called Marchese's strengths "a hand-in-glove fit."

Tamara Wright left the position to become Brookhaven's town comptroller.