John Ferretti faces protest, appointment criticism at first Hempstead meeting

Hempstead Supervisor John Ferretti presided over a contentious town board meeting Wednesday, his first since majority Republicans on the town board appointed him supervisor last month.

Ferretti faced a barrage of criticism from residents over his appointment at the Aug. 5 meeting following the abrupt resignation of former Supervisor Donald X. Clavin, Jr. Clavin is running for a Nassau County judgeship in November with cross-endorsements. Clavin then took a new job in the town's department of planning and economic development. Clavin resigned and retired from that job last week after Newsday reported he was being paid the same salary he had as supervisor, $179,375, in his new role as a community services representative.

The town had not disclosed Clavin's salary and title, which Newsday requested several times, for three weeks.

Democrats have cried foul over Ferretti’s appointment, alleging Republicans have given him the advantage of incumbency before November’s election against Democrat Joseph Scianablo.

Before the meeting, protesters including Scianablo gathered outside of Town Hall to denounce Ferretti's appointment and Clavin's "no show job." One person held up a sign that read, "No-show jobs are fraud."

The town board on Wednesday voted to approve hiring Rocky Point-based attorney Steven E. Losquadro to represent the town in a lawsuit Scianablo filed to challenge the legality of Ferretti's appointment. The suit alleges the appointment violated New York State Open Meetings Law. Losquadro has served as counsel to the Suffolk Republican Committee. 

A hearing on that suit is scheduled for Tuesday. Town board documents online did not disclose how much Losquadro is being paid to represent the town and town officials did not respond to requests for that information. 

During the meeting Diane Madden, of East Meadow, asked for an explanation about the legal fees.

Town Attorney John L. Maccarone said the town hires outside counsel for their expertise and the practice helps save money on salaries by having fewer in-house attorneys.

“From time to time and specialized instances, we hire outside counsel and this is one of those instances,” Maccarone said at the meeting.

Scianablo attempted to follow up with questions about the lawsuit but was told he couldn’t speak since he had already spoken on a different agenda item earlier in the meeting.

“You are very aware of the lawsuit that you brought, and we will not comment on pending litigation,” Maccarone said at the meeting.

Town spokesman Brian Devine said in a statement that in Clavin's stint as a community service representative, the former supervisor "was a conscientious employee who diligently and scrupulously fulfilled his time and attendance requirements during his tenure in this role."

“Any suggestion to the contrary is without merit and totally unfounded," Devine said. "Numerous individuals can corroborate that Mr. Clavin was at his place of employment during business hours."

For months, in anticipation of Clavin's resignation and Ferretti's appointment, Democrats had called for Dorothy Goosby, the deputy supervisor and councilwoman, to take over. Goosby is the only Democrat on the town board.

Steve Lester, counsel to the town board minority, said during the meeting that the town code allowed Goosby to assume the duties of town supervisor if a vacancy occurs. But that's only until a new supervisor assumed office or an existing supervisor resumed his or her duties, he said.

"I want to make it clear to everyone, I have no desire to work in this position that he's in,” Goosby said. “None whatsoever. My desire is to continue with what I'm doing.”

Ferretti listened to residents’ concerns about his and Clavin’s appointments but did not address them.

Ferretti did not address reporters after the meeting.