Huntington Town Attorney Susan Coleman resigns

Huntington’s town attorney has resigned and will be replaced by a longtime member of the town’s legal staff, Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said.

Susan Coleman submitted her resignation last week and her last day is slated for July 21, town officials said. 

Deputy Town Attorney Ed Gathman will replace her, officials said.

Coleman and Gathman declined to comment.

Coleman, of Lloyd Harbor, has worked for the town since 2019, Smyth said. She was appointed town attorney in August 2023 to fill the unexpired term of Deborah Misir, who had resigned. Coleman was appointed to a full two-year term in January of last year, Smyth said.

In a news release announcing her resignation, Coleman said she was leaving to work in the private sector. “I have valued my time serving as the Town Attorney and extend my appreciation to Supervisor Smyth and the members of the Board,” she said in the release. 

Smyth praised Coleman's work ethic and said the office was led with “tradition, custom and accepted standards throughout government and the legal community” during her tenure. She is not simply a figurehead for the office, Smyth said: “She personally handles many court appearances and administrative hearings; she is a practicing attorney.”

Gathman has worked for the town since 1999 as the planning board and Environmental Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee attorney. He was hired in the town attorney’s office in 2000 and named deputy town attorney in August 2023.

Smyth said he is confident Gathman will seamlessly step into the new role. “Ed Gathman has decades of experience representing the Town of Huntington in all types of legal matters,” Smyth said, adding that he is “held in the highest regard by the legal community.”

The town attorney’s office acts as legal counsel to the town, town board, town officers, the zoning board of appeals and the planning board, according to the town's website. The office is responsible for responding to legal inquiries by town officials, personnel and constituents on town-related matters, according to the website.

In 2024, records provided by the town to Newsday through a Freedom of Information Law request show Gathman earned $125,762.09 for his role as deputy town attorney and received a $26,999.96 stipend for his work with the planning board and EOSPA. 

As town attorney, Gathman will maintain his current salary with a $25,000 stipend, Smyth said.

Coleman’s salary last year was $162,060.15, according to the information provided by the FOIL request and confirmed by town officials.