Thomas Tweedy, the former Republican mayor of Floral Park who is running for a seat on the Hempstead Town Board as a Democrat, said that he hasn’t changed, the Republican Party has.
Tweedy, who is running in the 2nd District, said that he could retire, but feels that “work is needed” in the town. He said in a sitdown interview with Blank Slate Media that something must be done about the “disunity and chaos” within the Town Board.
The board consists of four Republicans and one Democrat, Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby, who often votes and works with other Town Board members rather than Hempstead Supervisor Laura Gillen, a fellow Democrat. One seat on the board is vacant.
Tweedy, who served as mayor of Floral Park for 12 years, said he was elected as a member of the Citizen’s Party, not as a Republican.
He said he did not like his party’s actions after the indictment of Councilman Edward Ambrosino. The party Tweedy knew would have let Ambrosino go from his position after the initial tax evasion charges were made against him, he said. According to Patch, Ambrosino stayed on the board until he pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in April.
Tweedy’s election opponent, Thomas Muscarella, whom Tweedy called the “poster boy of nepotism,” was appointed to the 2nd District seat to succeed Ambrosino.
The Second Councilmanic District of the Town of Hempstead includes Bellerose Terrace, Floral Park, Garden City, Garden City South, the incorporated area of New Hyde Park, Salisbury, South Floral Park, Stewart Manor, and portions of Bellerose, East Meadow, Elmont, Franklin Square, Hempstead, Uniondale and West Hempstead.
In Hempstead, the Republican Party has become the party of patronage and not the party of limited government, Tweedy said. Tweedy said he found himself supporting Gillen during the 2017 election for town supervisor.
“I see opportunities. I see them being squandered,” Tweedy said.
Tweedy, who worked in general construction before entering politics, said that his strengths include that he has made deals across the political aisle, values fiscal management and restraint, and is an independent thinker.
Tweedy, known for his initial opposition to the LIRR’s third track project, said that his criticizing the project, negotiating for benefits such as a grade crossing eliminations on the mainline and working with other mayors on the LIRR Main Line made for a better project.
The difference between previous casino plans for Belmont Park, which Tweedy opposed as mayor, and the Islanders arena which broke ground last month is that the arena will result in more permanent jobs, Tweedy said.
He said that he did not want to comment on the actions of his successors on the Floral Park village board, who filed an article 78 lawsuit against Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing the project, in September.
On Gillen, Tweedy said that he has “never seen anyone so disrespected” as Gillen in reference to her tumultuous relationship with the Town Board. He said that the Republican majority board has often hindered Gillen’s ability to bring change to the Town of Hempstead.
“People were open to change, but they got anything but,” Tweedy said.
The upcoming election will see the Democratic Party take back the Town Board, Tweedy said. He said that Lora Webster, who is running for Erin King Sweeney’s vacant seat, and Shari James, Councilman Bruce Blakeman’s opponent, will win in November and will be able to help Gillen, whose experience Tweedy compared to the Alamo.
Tweedy said his goal would be to “streamline” the town’s government and discover where money is going, where it could be allocated and where it could be cut.
He voiced support for Gillen’s backing of a tabled resolution authorizing the execution of an agreement for Granicus Novus Agenda software that would help the town clerk’s office go completely digital.
Gillen has said that this move would result in more transparency and generate meeting agendas online more efficiently. According to GIllen, there are 72 typewriters still being used in the Town of Hempstead. Tweedy said that in Hempstead there are rooms full of manila folders holding vital documents and FOIA requests for the town.
“I’m looking at this as my full-time job,” Tweedy said.
