Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine keeps nearly three-quarters of Steve Bellone's top staff

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine has retained nearly three-quarters of political appointees of former Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone while hiring about 40 of his own, according to county documents obtained by Newsday.

Romaine, a Republican, took office Jan. 1. He succeeded Bellone, a Democrat who was term-limited after 12 years. 

In December, Romaine's transition team sought resignations from the 200 nonunion employees overseen by the county executive office — standard practice during administrative changes. His team said employees who wanted to stay could reapply for their jobs.

He has retained about 150 of the nonunion workers, who can be hired or fired at the will of county administrations.

About 40 appointed employees have been hired in the county executive’s office, the legal department and other offices, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request. The figures don't include employees who were already on the county payroll and transferred to the county executive's office, such as county attorney Chris Clayton who previously served in the district attorney's office.  

About 60 appointed county employees have quit, retired or were let go, a review of the documents shows. Officials are still in the process of filling some vacancies, Romaine spokesman Mike Martino said.

“County Executive Romaine’s hiring decisions are based on talent to ensure his administration provides the services our residents expect while he is focused on making Suffolk County a safer and more affordable place to live," Martino said in a statement. 

The statement did not address why some employees were kept and others weren't. Martino said he could not discuss personnel matters.

Senior-level positions in Romaine's administration, including department commissioners and deputy county executives, have been filled. They include labor licensing and consumer affairs commissioner Wayne Rogers at a $187,893 salary and public works commissioner Charles Bartha at a $200,004 salary, the documents show.

Bartha was a former public works commissioner who retired in 2006. Rogers is a former Republican Suffolk County Board of Elections commissioner and a member of the Brookhaven Town Republican Committee.

Romaine's highest paid appointee is chief deputy county executive Kevin Molloy with a $208,695 salary, the same as his predecessor Lisa Black, who left county service on Jan. 1. Molloy, Romaine’s chief of staff while he was Brookhaven Town supervisor, has worked under various Suffolk Republican officials over nearly three decades and serves as secretary of the Brookhaven Town Republican Committee.

Romaine's job comes with a four-year term and, under the 2024 county budget, a recommended annual salary of $241,409.

His other new hires include Republicans who unsuccessfully ran for county legislature in 2023.

Former Legis. Manny Esteban (R-East Northport), who in November lost his bid for a second term, has been appointed as an assistant county attorney at a $127,315 salary. Anthony Figliola, a Republican who lost a bid for county legislator to Democrat Steve Englebright, has been appointed deputy commissioner of health services at a $172,077 salary.

Among the appointees retained by Romaine are economic planning and development commissioner Sarah Lansdale and parks commissioner Jason Smagin. Their 2023 salaries were $193,026 and $177,343, respectively.

Those who left include Bellone's deputy county executives and department heads like former police commissioner Rodney Harrison, information technology commissioner Scott Mastellon and assistant county attorney Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld, a former Democratic Brookhaven Town councilman.

Former Suffolk County Executive Pat Halpin, a Democrat who served from 1988 to 1991, said it’s common for a new county executive to bring in people who are committed to their priorities while also retaining employees with institutional knowledge.

Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's team sought resignations from the county's 308 nonunion employees after he defeated former County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat, in 2021. Blakeman's administration retained 193, or nearly two-thirds, of the employees.

“There’s an expression ‘to the victors go the spoils,’ ” Halpin said. “But my experience was we kept a number of political appointees because we needed their expertise in given areas. You’ve got to strike the right balance because in the end you still have to get the work done.”

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.