Hempstead Town Board to reappoint John Ferretti supervisor after Democrats' lawsuit

The Hempstead Town Board will consider appointing John Ferretti town supervisor on Tuesday for a second time weeks after Democrats filed a lawsuit alleging his appointment in August was illegal.

The town board appointed Ferretti, a Republican, shortly after Donald X. Clavin Jr. abruptly resigned during the Aug. 5 town board meeting.

Joseph Scianablo, the Democratic nominee for supervisor, sued the town and most of its elected officials last month. The suit alleged the board violated state open meetings law by not notifying the public in advance of Clavin's plan to resign and Ferretti's appointment replacing him. Clavin is running for a Nassau County judgeship with cross-endorsements.

Ferretti, Clavin, five town board members, Town Clerk Kate Murray and spokesman Brian Devine were subpoenaed over the past week to testify Thursday during a hearing on the lawsuit. Republicans control the town board with a majority of 5-1.

“Let us be clear: the appointment of John Ferretti on August 5 was entirely proper and lawful,” Brian Devine, Hempstead town spokesman, said in a news release issued Friday. “Mr. Scianablo’s lawsuit is meritless, and the only thing it accomplishes is wasting the time of the courts and the taxpayers’ money.

“By considering a resolution confirming the appointment of Mr. Ferretti as Supervisor on September 16, the Board will put this nonsense to rest and save residents from the needless costs of defending against a baseless claim,” Devine said in the release.

Jay Jacobs, chairman of the state and Nassau County Democratic Committees, said in an interview Friday that the decision to reappoint Ferretti is “an admission that ... [the Aug. 5 appointment] was inappropriate.” 

“Once again, it's pretty clear that the Republicans were caught doing the wrong thing the wrong way,” Jacobs said. “Now they're trying to clean up their mess.”

Jacobs said Ferretti should return any income he received as supervisor since his appointment. Until last month, Ferretti, of Levittown, was a Nassau County Legislator representing the 15th District.

“It is an unlawful appointment, and my suspicion is that he's been collecting a salary for a job he shouldn't have had,” Jacobs said. “The salary that he took should be returned to the taxpayer.”

Jacobs said Ferretti, or his campaign, should also pay for the town mailings that have been sent out with his name on them.

“The cost of all of the mailings that they did to promote John Ferretti as supervisor when he was not a supervisor is money that either should come from him personally or his campaign ... the taxpayer should get that money back.”

Devine declined Friday to answer questions about the lawsuit and referred to the news release. When Ferretti was appointed on Aug. 5, it was by a motion rather than a resolution, though it was assigned a resolution number in the meeting minutes.

Scianablo’s lawsuit seeks to nullify Ferretti’s Aug. 5 appointment, compel the town board to undergo training in the state's open meetings law, and force the reimbursement of Scianablo’s legal fees.

Scianablo, a former Queens County prosecutor, said Friday his lawsuit is still moving forward.

“Their decision to revote John Ferretti’s appointment is an unmistakable admission that they knew it was illegal from the start,” Scianablo said in an interview. "Arguably every action he has taken is now legally void, including any contracts he has signed."

Less than 30 minutes after Clavin resigned, the town hired him in a new role but officials declined to disclose his salary or title for weeks. The town eventually told Newsday he was working as a community services representative making the same salary he had as supervisor: $179,375. Clavin resigned from that role the next day, retiring from town government, Newsday reported.