Joseph Cairo tapped to head North Hempstead town GOP

Nassau Republican Party chairman Joseph Mondello announced last week that North Valley Stream GOP leader Joseph Cairo, second in command of the county committee, is the new North Hempstead Town Republican chairman.

Current town leader Frank Moroney will serve as Cairo's deputy.

Mondello told GOP leaders at a Thursday meeting that the party needed a "good mechanic" to bring out Republicans in a town that has been controlled by Democrats since Ben Zwirn was elected North Hempstead supervisor in 1989.

Cairo is expected to bring in foot solders from around the county that Moroney could not muster to help Republican candidates, such as state Sen. Jack Martins (R-Old Westbury).

A Republican recently was elected mayor in the Village of Great Neck, a traditional Democratic stronghold, while Republican candidates held off Democratic challenges in two third-party primaries last week.

"I've done this for eight years and we need a resurgence and we need a mechanic and we have both of those with yesterday's two [primary] victories in North Hempstead and Joe Cairo coming in as the ultimate mechanic," Moroney said later. "I'm very happy to be the deputy and committed to making this a better organization in North Hempstead."