Ethics Board Members Elect Randazzo As Chair

Sheryl Randazzo

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

A Huntington-based attorney is the first elected chairperson of the Town of Huntington Ethics Board.

Sheryl Randazzo, a member of the board, was elected by her peers last month during the board’s quarterly meeting.

Randazzo’s election comes after the Huntington Town Board passed unanimously a resolution in May that requires the five-person ethics board to “elect a chairperson from among its members at the first meeting of each year.”

In her new role as chair, Randazzo, 51, of Northport, will preside over the ethics board’s meetings and sign the ethics opinions.

Randazzo, a partner in the Huntington-based law firm of Randazzo & Randazzo LLP, has served on the ethics board since February 2016. Randazzo previously served as the president of the Suffolk County Bar Association and an adjunct professor of law at Touro Law Center in Central Islip.

“Having a chair is important for any committee to effectively accomplish its intended purpose,” Randazzo said. “I intend to continue the board’s service to the public in assuring confidence and integrity with respect to all aspects of Huntington Town Government and the people elected or hired to serve in their respective roles within it.”

Town Attorney Nick Ciappetta said the ability of the ethics board, which oversees all ethics training for town employees, investigates potential town code of ethics violations and administers the town’s financial disclosure program, to elect its own chair “provides a degree of independence from the town board and the political process.”

The town board votes to appoint the members of the ethics board, who are not paid for their service.

Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, who sponsored the May resolution, described Randazzo as a “well-respected” member of the community who will assist in the “effective administration” of the ethics board.

Randazzo said it makes sense that the ethics board members should elect their own chair because they are the ones who have first-hand knowledge regarding each member’s “appropriateness to serve as chair.”

The ethics board’s next quarterly meeting is slated to take place sometime in September.