One of North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena’s picks for the town’s Board of Ethics has withdrawn her name after multiple months of being voted down by Democrats on the Town Board. 

Melissa Slobin, a speech-language pathologist for Manhasset Public Schools, withdrew her name from consideration for the Town’s seven-member Ethics Board.

“If it can’t be agreed that she would be appointed to the Board of Ethics, then she would rather not have her name on the agenda,” DeSena said during the Oct. 13 meeting.

Two additional picks from DeSena, Derek Chan and Francisco Vazquez, were both voted down by Democrats in a 4-3 party-line vote. 

Democrats also voted against appointing the law firm of Leventhal, Mullaney & Blinkoff as special counsel for the Ethics Board. 

Councilman Robert Troiano, a Democrat, said during the vote for Chan that the supervisor had not consulted with other members of the council for her Ethics Board picks, which has been on the agenda multiple times.

“The supervisor said she’s done everything she can do to get new Ethics Board members appointed,” Troiano said. “Everything except for the one thing that the town code requires, which is that you consult with the town council.”

DeSena said no one has objected to the picks.

“The names and resumes of these nominees have been available for months and I’ve had no objections to them,” DeSena said. “I think this is a game that we’re playing and I don’t think we should be playing games with important things like an independent ethics board.”

Joseph Sciame, a current member of the board that is serving on an unexpired term, was voted in unanimously for a two-month term until the end of this year. 

The seven-member Board of Ethics is responsible for implementing the provisions of the Town’s Code of Ethics, according to the Town’s websites.

Upon DeSena taking office, the Board of Ethics at the time was completely made up of members who were in holdover status and could be removed at any time. 

Its responsibilities include approving and reviewing financial statements, rendering advisory opinions to Town employees on the Code of Ethics and enforcing the code while determining penalties, among other things.

Unabbreviated terms for the board are four years. 

As of now, the Town’s Board of Ethics is made up of Chair Joseph Sciame, Robin Bolling, Isma Chaudry, Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Rabbi Robert Widom, Justice Richard Kestenbaum and Betty Leong. 

Of those seven, only Bolling, Chaudry, Perl and Sciame are serving defined terms. The remaining three are serving unexpired terms and can be removed at any time.

There was discussion on the potential conflict of interest between the town attorney’s office representing both the Town Board and Board of Ethics, but Town Attorney John Chiara clarified there is no natural conflict of interest and that his office represents other town boards and commissioners, which can be investigated by the ethics board.

Chiara added that if there is a conflict of interest in a particular situation, he is ethically obligated to recommend an outside counsel. 

Troiano added that there has been no conflict of interest presented thus far and the Ethics Board has not asked for outside counsel.

The next meeting regular meeting for the North Hempstead Town Board will be on Nov. 17.