Former Huntington Town Board member among those assisting Councilwoman Jen Herbert in new role

A former Huntington Town Board member and ex-assistant town attorney have volunteered to help the board's newest member learn on the job, citing a lack of dedicated staff support.

Joan Cergol and Johanna Suchow, both Democrats, are helping fellow Democrat Jen Hebert navigate processes while sharing their institutional knowledge.

Hebert, the only Democrat on the five-member board and the only first-year member, started her four-year term in January.

Suchow announced at the February town board meeting that she and Cergol would be volunteering to help.

Last year, the town board voted to eliminate eight appointed aide positions in the town council office in what officials said was an effort to better serve residents, Newsday previously reported. In place of the eliminated positions, a 311 call center at Town Hall was created, staffed with Civil Service workers.

Four town board members, not counting Republican Supervisor Ed Smyth, now share two aides.

Herbert said she welcomes the help from Cergol and Suchow.

“They can save me time and energy by helping me to know how to navigate Town Hall, the history of some issues, and basically help me to take the correct steps to get things done," she said.

Hebert works part-time as a nursery school director. She is a trustee with the Huntington library system and is a former Huntington school board president. She said she's experienced with working collaboratively on a board, creating budgets and negotiating contracts, but said without a full-time dedicated aide, providing the best service to constituents is challenging.

“They can give me background on things so I don’t spend a large amount of my time reinventing the wheel,” she said, referring to Cergol and Suchow.

Although she was advised by both Democrats and Republicans to ask for a dedicated aide after she was sworn in, she didn’t.

“Who am I to say that I need a legislative aide; I had never worked the job before,” she said.

But she learned quickly it was a big job for two aides to support four board members.

“If I’m going to be productive as a council member, I’m going to need my own legislative aide,” Hebert said. “That’s the way I will be most effective.”

Smyth said in an email, “The council office is welcome to reconfigure their staff as they see fit, political theater notwithstanding.”

Cergol, who served on the town board between 2017 and 2023, said having been in the position, she knows the demand and workload.

“We can provide some insights and institutional knowledge as she confronts new issues and questions,” Cergol said. “There’s a learning curve for anyone taking on that job.”

Suchow, who worked in the town attorney’s office between 2002 and 2013, said she has background and experience that can be helpful.

“It’s not just somebody answering phone calls,” she said of a legislative aide. “It’s somebody researching possible legislation, so many good things that have come out of the council office have resulted into good laws.”

The call center, which became fully operational Feb. 3, is staffed by two full-time employees, town officials said. The town is looking to eventually employ up to eight citizen advocates.

The call center is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

By Deborah S. Morris

deborah.morris@newsday.comdsvmorris

Deborah Morris is a native Long Islander and covers the town of Huntington.