High-ranking North Hempstead Democrats informally met Tuesday evening to voice support for Great Neck resident John Ryan to succeed Gerard Terry as chair of the town’s Democratic Party.
North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth told Newsday she held the meeting at her residence, which 35 town Democrats attended.
“The executive committee of the North Hempstead Democrats met informally tonight at my home and enthusiastically supported John Ryan as candidate for town leader,” Bosworth said.
Terry, a longtime Democratic political operative in North Hempstead, resigned last Monday as chairman of the town’s Democratic Party.
His decision came in the wake of a Jan. 31 Newsday report showing Terry owes $1.4 million in combined state and federal back taxes, has been involved in five lawsuits with unsatisfied judgments totaling $190,000, and had his attorney registration lapse for a period of three years.
According to Newsday, the North Hempstead Democratic executive committee would need to vote on Ryan’s appointment at a convention held by Nassau Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs.
Bosworth said Ryan is “a wonderful community leader, he will bring so much to our town committee in terms of working together corroboratively, and in terms of encouraging people to be part of this great process.”
Efforts to reach Jacobs were unavailing.
Ryan, a senior vice president of investments and a certified long term care specialist with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Garden City, declined to comment.
