Mastic Beach trustee resigns weeks before village elections

Mastic Beach Village trustee Anne Snyder has resigned from her post, three weeks from village election day.

“I have not spoken to her. I wish her the best of luck and thank her for her service,” Mayor Maura Spery said in an interview.

In her Feb. 27 resignation letter, Snyder wrote it was an honor to serve the public. She declined to comment, but her attorney, Lalit Jain, said, “She felt she was unable to serve the people for which she was elected.”

Spery said she has appointed village resident Victor Viola to the position, the term for which ends April 3. Viola is currently campaigning for a trustee seat on the Dissolve Party line. Village elections are on March 21.

Viola, 69, who is retired from Con Edison and has no government experience, was sworn in last week, officials said. He sat on the dias during last Tuesday’s village board meeting, officials said.

Spery praised Viola for his organizational skills and said he is the best person to help with the process of dissolving the 6-year-old village and returning it to the jurisdiction of Brookhaven Town.

Village residents, in a 1,922 to 1,215 vote in November, approved a plan to disband and rejoin Brookhaven by Dec. 31 of this year.

From its start, the village faced operating challenges, with its first mayor, Paul Breschard, resigning midway through his first term, citing tension on the village board. The village has had three mayors, six treasurers, five attorneys and three clerks since it was incorporated.