New Flower Hill trustees seek full board terms

Bill San Antonio

Two recently appointed Village of Flower Hill trustees will be looking to keep their seats on the board in a March 18 election in which they face no formal opposition on the ballot.

Trustees Brian Herrington and Jay Beber, running on the Flower Hill Party line with incumbent trustee and current Deputy Mayor Robert McNamara, are seeking their first two-year terms in office after filling the remainder of terms left by former Deputy Mayor Tab Hauser and trustee Eileen Mills. 

“I felt a good portion of the activities would be dry and wouldn’t hold my interest, because having sat through a couple of meetings, people tend only to show up when they had problems, but there’s so much that can be accomplished when people have the right mindset,” said Beber, who was appointed to succeed Mills in December.

Beber, a 32-year Flower Hill resident who has been retired for the last three years after a 30-year career in advertising, graphic arts and digital printing, said he would continue initiatives begun in the last two months to digitize village records and update the village newsletter.

“I think that if I were to focus on any one thing, it’d be the ability to communicate not only on what the village does for residents now, but to look at what the residents are looking from the village itself,” he said.

The director of government relations with the Scotts Miracle Grow Company, Herrington has lived in Flower Hill for considerably less time than Beber, having moved to the village nearly two years ago.

But he said his professional background of working under then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and former Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has provided him the experience in government to be successful in the trustee role.

“I think that puts me at a unique advantage to know sometimes where to go for resources the village can use and then diving further into environmental issues or improving infrastructure,” said Herrington, who joined the board in November to fill the seat vacated by Hauser, who resigned last June after announcing he’d be moving to Glen Cove.

McNamara was elevated to deputy mayor the same night Herrington was appointed to the board. Like Herrington and Beber, he was appointed to fill the remainder of a term prior to being elected in 2013 to a full two-year term.

McNamara previously served as chairman of the village’s finance committee, a position he continues to hold. He was also one of the founding members of the village’s architectural review committee, which was established late last year.

“The more experience and time you have, and the more comfortable you are, the more comfortable you are with the team you’re working with,” said McNamara, who was in the banking and credit card industries for more than 40 years. “…Our group, as it’s formed, is a well-formed group. Everyone has their own expertise.”

In the next few years, McNamara said the board would prioritize the implementation of a long-term stability plan as well as several environmental initiatives. 

He said Herrington’s experience in working with government agencies and Beber’s communications talents would assist the board in generating cost-savings and effective community relations.

“Jay is a real comfortable fit. He wants to jump in with both feet, but he’s not aggressive and wants to be a working member of the board,” McNamara said. “Brian has a background in the areas we need. He’s a young, bright guy who’s not afraid to speak out.”

Beber said his time on the board “exceeds my wildest expectations,” and has sought the guidance of Flower Hill Mayor Elaine Phillips, Trustee Karen Reichenbach and Village Administrator Ronnie Shatzkamer. 

Herrington said he has also become comfortable in his role as a trustee despite joining during the recent holiday season, which often comes with increased family and school responsibilities. 

“I talk to people in walking around the neighborhood, taking the dog out for a walk, in a lot of different scenarios,” he said. “Before I knew it, it was time to get signatures from residents [for election eligibility]. Either way, we’re trying to identify the concerns of opportunities we have in the village.”

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