DeSena Demands Dems Withdraw Controversial Town Appointment

MANHASSET, NY — North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena slammed the Town Board's Democratic majority on Monday for plans to reappoint a disgraced official to a position he resigned from in 2016.

Former Highway Superintendent Thomas Tiernan — once the highest-paid town employee — stepped aside amid investigations into the highway department's overtime use. Relatives working for the town were also embroiled in controversy and scandal, including his sister who was charged with embezzling $98,000 from the Solid Waste Management Agency.

"Appointing Tom Tiernan as highway superintendent again — a mere six years after scandals involving him and his family engulfed this Town — is a very clear sign to residents that the majority councilmembers are willing to abandon their ethical standards to hire the most politically connected candidate, not the most qualified one," DeSena said.

In pointed remarks, the Republican supervisor said the majority councilmembers are "only working to preserve their political power" by trying to reappoint Tiernan as superintendent of highways.

Going a step further, DeSena called out Councilmember Veronica Lurvey (D-District 4) for proposing the appointment, saying she made the "backroom" pick without prior discussion or any explanation.

"I cannot stand quietly by as the majority councilmembers work to welcome back an individual involved in scandal, greed, and questionable ethics," DeSena said. "I am calling on councilwoman Lurvey to start acting with the best interest of our residents in mind, withdraw this resolution immediately, and publicly post the position in order to find the most qualified candidates, not the most politically connected ones."

In a statement to Patch, Lurvey commended Tiernan for his work as superintendent of highways and said he cares deeply about Town residents.

She also said that she offered all members of the board the chance to discuss Tiernan's hiring, but "instead of communicating with us directly, (DeSena) is again playing the victim in the press."

The highway superintendent is primarily responsible for overseeing the town's highway department, which maintains and repairs 300 miles of roadway.

Tiernan first took the highway superintendent job in 2000.

Back in 2016, Newsday investigated Tiernan's overtime pay and found that he collected more than $134,000 between 2011 and 2015. He not only became the town's highest-paid employee, but was the only highway chief on Long Island eligible for overtime pay.

"While this arrangement may not have been legally improper, because his title was part of the Town's union at the time, serious ethical questions were raised about the appropriateness of this," DeSena, a former attorney, said Monday. "And in many people's opinions of this, there never was sufficient justification for this."

The $134,000 in overtime could have been used in a number of ways, according to DeSena, such as funding a new town program or revitalizing a park.

After Tiernan resigned in 2016, the Town hired former building commissioner Kevin Cronin to serve as acting superintendent. Richard Baker, a public works commissioner, took over the job in 2016, but resigned abruptly some months later.

Harry Weed became acting superintendent in 2021. Efforts to make his job permanent have stalled.