Nick LaLota, Amityville trustee, plans to keep village job if chosen for Suffolk GOP elections post

Amityville trustee Nick LaLota said he will keep his position in village government after being nominated last week for Suffolk County GOP election commissioner.

State law bars most public officeholders from also being in the commissioner's job but exempts village officers. LaLota, 36, said the new job would not present a conflict of interest.

"It was an easier decision to make knowing that I could keep both roles," he said.

LaLota, who makes $7,000 a year as a village trustee, but voluntarily returns 20 percent of that to the village, was tapped Friday by Suffolk Republican chairman John Jay LaValle for the $137,651-a-year county commissioner's job, where he would replace Wayne Rogers. As commissioner, LaLota would oversee 60 employees, the administration of elections and registration of voters.

While LaLota said he would keep the Amityville post, he plans to resign from his current position as chief of staff to state Sen. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore) around Jan. 1 and begin the new job almost immediately, he said. His appointment to the Board of Elections awaits approval by the county legislature.

If approved, LaLota would be the youngest Suffolk County GOP elections commissioner in 30 years, LaValle said. William Canary was 31 when he took the office in 1984.

LaLota has been a driving -- and polarizing -- force in Amityville government since Mayor James Wandell appointed him as a trustee in 2013, taking a lead role on budgeting for the fiscally troubled village.

His very public push to freeze base pay for some Amityville police officers drew the ire of PBA officials and criticism from fellow trustee Dennis Siry.

Bay Village Civic Association president Joan Donnison called LaLota's approach disrespectful.

Voters elected him to a full one-year term in March. LaLota is a Navy veteran and the grandson-in-law of Lou Howard, a former assemblyman, Suffolk Legislature presiding officer and Amityville mayor.

In an interview last week, LaValle called LaLota "an intelligent, hardworking guy who has been in the trenches" and can help the GOP advance.