Year-end Musical chairs for Nassau politicos: Nicolello, Chiara, Kopel vs McKevitt

12/27/2023 02:46:00 PM

With the close of the year, Nassau Republican and Democratic office holders are moving jobs while the next presiding officer of the Nassau legislature remains in question.

As long rumored, it was announced today that Nassau's Republican Presiding Officer Rich Nicolello, of New Hyde Park, the last remaining member of the original county legislature that began in 1996, would be North Hempstead's next Town Attorney.

Rich Nicolello

The appointment of Nicolello, who had announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election to the county legislature, follows the November election when the 4-3 Democrat-Republican North Hempstead Town Board was replaced by a 4-3 Republican-Democrat board. That meant Republicans, as of Jan. 1, would be in control of the hiring the town's appointed positions for the first time in three decades.

That also meant that North Hempstead Town Attorney John Chiara of Garden City would be out of a job.

But Chiara would not be unemployed.

Several Democratic and Republican sources say that the county's financial control board has chosen Chiara, an refugee from the former administration of Democratic County Executive Laura, to be its next general counsel, replacing longtime general counsel Jeremy Wise.

Laura Curran and John Chiara

Wise retired from the Nassau Interim Finance Authority earlier this month. Wise had been with NIFA since it was created by the state legislature in 2000 to monitor the county's shaky finances.

He was there when NIFA decided in 2011 to move from monitor to control because of an estimated $176 million deficit in Nassau's operating budget. He remained there as NIFA refused to give up its control of the county's finances despite five years of budget surpluses.

NIFA is run by a seven-member volunteer board of political appointees. All but one are Democrats or Democratic contributors, who have the power to approve and disapprove spending by elected Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

After accepting Wise's resignation, the board went into executive session to select a successor. Though it made no announcement, sources say that Chiara was their choice.

Chiara was hired by Curran after she took office in 2018 as her deputy county executive for "compliance." She later made him acting county attorney.

Though he was in charge of ethics and compliance, Chiara never disclosed to the county legislature that he had worked for principals of a firm that he advocated to get a half-million dollar county contract.

Disclosure wasn't required but Curran pulled the contract after the legislature raised questions about the firm's selection.

If Chiara joins NIFA, that means the "impartial" control board in charge of Blakeman spending will make its decisions based on advice from two lawyers fired by Blakeman. Not only did Chiara lose his job when Blakeman took over, but so did Conal Denion, a deputy county attorney who was quickly picked up by NIFA as their deputy general counsel.

Chiara also is the founder of "Say No to the Casino," an organization opposed to the Las Vegas Sands Inc. plans for a casino at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale. Blakeman has been the strongest advocate for the Casino.

Sure seems like NIFA is giving Blakeman a rude hand gesture.

Meanwhile, a replacement has yet to be announced for Nicolello as leader of the Republican-controlled county legislature.

The leading candidates are deputy presiding Officer Howard Kopel of Lawrence and Tom McKevitt of East Meadow. Though Kopel has seniority, he also has a long standing relationship with former Republican Hempstead Supervisor Anthony Santino, a political adversary of Republican County Chairman Joe Cairo.