Pending Southampton Town Attorney Appointment Leads To Political Squabble

The Southampton Town Republican Committee last week charged Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman with refusing to screen former GOP Town Board candidate Damon Hagan for the vacant town attorney position because of his affiliations with the party.

In a press release issued on February 24, Committee Chairman William Wright said it was a shame Mr. Hagan was not being considered for the position, citing his experience. Mr. Wright added that he feared the decision not to consider Mr. Hagan would mark the beginning of a long streak of partisanship by Mr. Schneiderman, an Independence Party member who caucuses with the Democrats.

“Sadly, it appears that the supervisor is more interested in party politics than hearing ideas from across the aisle,” Mr. Wright said. “[The] supervisor’s refusal to even interview a popular Republican who is active in and knowledgeable of the local community is indicative of the close-mindedness, hostility and bigotry toward ideas and opinions that may differ from the supervisor. I believe this is just the tip of the exclusionary iceberg we can expect from Jay Schneiderman and his Democrat-controlled board for the next two years.”

Mr. Schneiderman vehemently countered the allegations a day later, saying that there were candidates who were simply more qualified for the position than Mr. Hagan. He went on to say he believes the top two candidates currently being considered, Jim Burke of Brookhaven and Stephen O’Brien of Smithtown, are both registered Republicans.

According to Mr. Schneiderman, Mr. Burke is a former deputy town attorney for the Town of Brookhaven and has extensive experience in private practice and municipal law. Mr. O’Brien, who currently works at a Smithtown private practice, also worked for a decade at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

“I declined to interview a number of people that did not meet the minimum requirements,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “He has no municipal law experience—zero,” he said of Mr. Hagan. “I have candidates that are much stronger, and I was not going to waste his time.”

The Southampton Town attorney position became available in January when Tiffany Scarlato announced her resignation. For a while, Mr. Schneiderman was hoping to hire NancyLynn Ferrini, wife of Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., but she accepted a job with East Hampton Town instead. Deputy Town Attorney Kathleen Murray turned down the role, but has been filling in as acting town attorney while Mr. Schneiderman looks for a full-time replacement.

Mr. Schneiderman also explained that, traditionally, it is the town supervisor who gets to pick the attorney, but that the board does have to approve the decision. He was also hesitant to pick an attorney in January before a vacant board seat was filled, he said.

Mr. Hagan unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Town Board in November’s election, coming in fourth behind fellow Republican Christine Scalera, and Democrats John Bouvier and Julie Lofstad. Most recently, he ran the campaign for Richard Yastrzemski in a special election to fill the vacant seat on the Town Board. Mr. Hagan highlights his experience working as an attorney focusing on labor issues in Patchogue.

“The idea that the supervisor was not interested in even sitting down with me because I am Republican is hurtful and scary,” Mr. Hagan said in the release. “If the supervisor is not willing to work with Republicans now, what can we expect for the future?”

Mr. Schneiderman maintained that he did everything he could to include the Republicans in selecting the town attorney. He said both of the top candidates would be interviewed by the entire board in the next two weeks during an executive, or closed-door, session and that he hopes to be able to name the new attorney shortly afterward.

“The notion that this is political motivation is ridiculous,” he said.