Supervisor DeSena says commissioners, department heads are being asked to report to Judi Bosworth’s former chief of staff

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Supervisor DeSena says commissioners, department heads are being asked to report to Judi Bosworth’s former chief of staff
DeSena was the first Republican nominee to win the town supervisor election in over 30 years. (Photo courtesy of the supervisor)

During a virtual town hall with Blank Slate Media, North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said that commissioners and department heads are being asked to report to Jeanine Dillon, the current chief research assistant to the Town Board and previous chief of staff for ex-Supervisor Judi Bosworth. 

DeSena’s comments came when she was asked about the Town Board and whether it is asserting authority not previously used. 

Since DeSena took office in January, conflicts have erupted at the board’s monthly meetings over  moving office space, budget and personnel resolutions and DeSena’s picks for the Board of Ethics, which were blocked on the grounds of lack of diversity, among other things.

In November, DeSena was the first Republican nominee to win the town supervisor election in over 30 years, succeeding Bosworth, a Democrat who did not seek re-election. The seven-member Town Board retains a Democratic majority, as it long has, with three Republicans to four Democrats.

“For too long, North Hempstead Town Hall has been riddled with politics, discord and staff in-fighting,” DeSena said during her inauguration in January. “Politics have been placed ahead of our taxpayers and town services have suffered as a result, there’s no denying it. As of today, partisan power party politics will no longer have a place in Town Hall.”

DeSena said at Blank Slate Media event last Thursday that the Town Board has a legislative function and its members work part-time and that she is the chief executive, responsible for what happens daily in Town Hall.

When it comes to accountability for day-to-day operations that’s the role of the supervisor, that’s the chief administrative officer and that’s what I am,” DeSena said. “The question is where does legislative function stop.”

The Manhasset resident said that commissioners and department heads were used to a certain chain of command under previous administrations, but that has been changed since she took office. 

“Me and the deputy supervisor [Joe Scalero] are here every day but now they’re still being asked to report to the former chief of staff to Judi Bosworth who somehow reports to the Town Board,” DeSena said. 

She was referring to Jeanine Dillon, who in January was transferred under a personnel resolution to become chief research assistant to the Town Board. Republicans opposed the resolution. 

Dillon, like most North Hempstead town employees, serves at the pleasure of the board. DeSena said  operations should still be reported to the supervisor and town employees are free to speak with council members, but Dillon should not be “calling for operations updates from commissioners.” 

Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey defended the Town Board and Dillon when reached for comment while rejecting DeSena’s view of the board’s and supervisor’s powers. 

“My residents would be very surprised if I was only coming in for and around Town Board meetings because there is so much more that goes into being a council member,” Lurvey said to Blank Slate Media. “The town supervisor is part of the legislative branch and acts as a member of the Town Board, so she is one of seven members. Virtually all of the town’s discretionary authority rests with the Town Board, and the board exercises both legislative and executive functions.”

Lurvey defended Dillon, saying she “is an integral, knowledgeable and hard-working member of the team here at the Town of North Hempstead and possesses both institutional knowledge and governmental experience.”

According to town law, the supervisor serves as the chief executive and is the head of the administrative branch. The Town Board is the legislative body, according to town law. 

DeSena, a registered Democrat who ran as a Republican, campaigned on making town government streamlined and more efficient, citing issues with the Building Department. DeSena also said that she voted for Joe Biden in the last presidential election. 

“We are evaluating things and some ideas,” DeSena said regarding the Building Department. “We didn’t get into this problem overnight and we won’t get out of it overnight. When I propose some reform, it’s going to be substantial. We don’t want to just put a Band-Aid on this.”

“We are developing ideas and will be proposing the first of many reforms shortly,” DeSena said. 

DeSena said she has spoken with Town of Oyster Bay officials but doesn’t want to copy and paste their solutions. She mentioned Mineola, where Deputy Supervisor Joe Scalero previously served as clerk for over a decade, as a good example of what may work in the town but said a “culture change” is most important for moving forward.  

When asked whether there is a need for more housing, specifically affordable housing in Nassau County, DeSena said there is some need and that it’s good to have a mix. She said it’s a priority when considering housing to look at where it is both environmentally and economically sound to build more units, if necessary. 

Moving forward, DeSena said that she “wants to look out for the employees” of Town Hall. She said  a number of acting department heads do not have the autonomy required to run things in the town. DeSena said she wants to keep listening to employees and make sure their strengths are recognized. 

“I want to make sure we are managing our departments and our staff well. That’s how we serve people the best,” she said.

On Thursday, March 31, DeSena will hold her first State of the Town address at the Clubhouse at Harbor Links in Port Washington. The address is set to begin at 1:15 p.m. and is free to the public.

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1 COMMENT

  1. So far, it’s all complaints. Let’s see if the Supervisor can quickly get the two deficient LIRR bridges in ToNH into a state of good repair, and fix the Town Building Department, which is a primary issue she ran on. Time’s passing. Tick tock.

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