Post by coots on Nov 18, 2011 18:02:36 GMT -5
NEWSDAY
Police Commissioner Bellone's Top Priority
Steve Bellone shaking the hand of Babylon Councilwoman Jackie Gordon, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.
11/18/11 - Suffolk County Executive-elect Steve Bellone said Thursday that the search for a new police commissioner tops his transition goals.
After a news conference at which he named his transition team and announced a website seeking resumes for county employment, Bellone said he'll soon launch a separate process focused on leadership of the county police department.
"This is as high a priority as it gets for me," Bellone said in the plaza of the county's H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppague. "There aren't many aspects of life that law enforcement does not touch."
Bellone wouldn't say whether he'll choose a commissioner from outside the department or someone who has worked his or her way through the ranks of Suffolk's more-than 2,700 officer force.
Current Police Commissioner Richard Dormer was a 30-year department veteran who had been retired for a decade when County Executive Steve Levy tapped him in 2004.
More generally, Bellone said he and his transition co-directors - Babylon Town Board member Antonio Martinez and attorney Regina Calcaterra will seek potential administration appointees who are accustomed to facing large obstacles. They cited the depth of Suffolk's fiscal problems, which have left nearly 500 positions funded only through June.
"Not only do we know how to do more with less," Calcaterra said, repeating a Bellone campaign theme, "but we know how to do more with basically nothing at all. Those are the characteristics we'll look for when we put a team together."
"It'll be the most inclusive transition we've seen in Suffolk County," he promised.
Calcaterra, 45, who was raised in Centereach and lives in Southhold, is managing partner of the Manhattan law firm Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, where she has worked for public pension funds in cases involving corporate fraud. last year, she sought to run against State Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), but a court knocked her off the ballot because she had not lived in the district for the required five years.
Martinez, 42, of Wheatley Heights, was born in El Salvador and has been a town board member since 2008. Before his election, he was an organizer for the Empire State regional Council of Carpenters.
Next week, Bellone will have two forums to gather input from residents: One Monday in Melville, on the economy, and the other Tuesday in Brentwood, on Diversity issues.
Bellone said all his transition team members will be volunteers.
The transition website is suffolkcountyworksforyou.com
Let the Pandering begin
Police Commissioner Bellone's Top Priority
Steve Bellone shaking the hand of Babylon Councilwoman Jackie Gordon, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.
11/18/11 - Suffolk County Executive-elect Steve Bellone said Thursday that the search for a new police commissioner tops his transition goals.
After a news conference at which he named his transition team and announced a website seeking resumes for county employment, Bellone said he'll soon launch a separate process focused on leadership of the county police department.
"This is as high a priority as it gets for me," Bellone said in the plaza of the county's H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppague. "There aren't many aspects of life that law enforcement does not touch."
Bellone wouldn't say whether he'll choose a commissioner from outside the department or someone who has worked his or her way through the ranks of Suffolk's more-than 2,700 officer force.
Current Police Commissioner Richard Dormer was a 30-year department veteran who had been retired for a decade when County Executive Steve Levy tapped him in 2004.
More generally, Bellone said he and his transition co-directors - Babylon Town Board member Antonio Martinez and attorney Regina Calcaterra will seek potential administration appointees who are accustomed to facing large obstacles. They cited the depth of Suffolk's fiscal problems, which have left nearly 500 positions funded only through June.
"Not only do we know how to do more with less," Calcaterra said, repeating a Bellone campaign theme, "but we know how to do more with basically nothing at all. Those are the characteristics we'll look for when we put a team together."
"It'll be the most inclusive transition we've seen in Suffolk County," he promised.
Calcaterra, 45, who was raised in Centereach and lives in Southhold, is managing partner of the Manhattan law firm Barrack, Rodos & Bacine, where she has worked for public pension funds in cases involving corporate fraud. last year, she sought to run against State Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson), but a court knocked her off the ballot because she had not lived in the district for the required five years.
Martinez, 42, of Wheatley Heights, was born in El Salvador and has been a town board member since 2008. Before his election, he was an organizer for the Empire State regional Council of Carpenters.
Next week, Bellone will have two forums to gather input from residents: One Monday in Melville, on the economy, and the other Tuesday in Brentwood, on Diversity issues.
Bellone said all his transition team members will be volunteers.
The transition website is suffolkcountyworksforyou.com
Next week, Bellone will have two forums to gather input from residents: One Monday in Melville, on the economy, and the other Tuesday in Brentwood, on Diversity issues.
Let the Pandering begin
