Trustees Tweedy and Rhatigan Take Oath of Office
Village of Floral Park Trustees Tom Tweedy and James Rhatigan took the oath of office to serve another two years on the board of trustees on April 5 during the village’s annual reorganization meeting at Village Hall.
The Honorable Douglas Hayden administered the Oath of Office to incumbent trustees Tweedy and Rhatigan. After taking the oath for the sixth time, Trustee Tweedy thanked “the hundreds and hundreds of friends and neighbors” who voted for the Citizens’ Party candidates in the village election on March 16, 2010. He also offered praise and thanks to the Citizens’ Party, its officers and board.
In his acceptance speech, Tweedy touted the board’s accomplishments and outlined goals for the future. “As trustee, I have derived great pleasure by working with and serving you, my neighbors and friends. Since my appointment by Mayor Ann Corbett in 2001, and later serving with Mayor Phil Guarnieri, I have had the unique privilege of navigating the village through some challenging times: zoning issues, preservation and expansion of village facilities, preservation of Floral Park’s character, the third track challenge, working with federal and state leaders in establishing new helicopter routes, building maintenance, unfunded mandates, drainage; while still providing the everyday needs we enjoy daily with our parks, library, recreation, public works and safety — quality services with budgeted restraint,” Tweedy stated.
He went on to say that despite a difficult economic climate, the board would overcome the difficulties that the current fiscal climate presents. “Those challenges continue to be daily directed by this village board, but we are additionally challenged by a downturn in our economy, negatively affecting our revenue and our residents alike. I pledge my best efforts in continuing to provide the best use of your tax dollar. Accountability and responsibility will be the benchmark of this board. I pledge this, along with my fellow board members, Trustees Mary-Grace Tomecki and Dominick Longobardi, my campaign partner and newly re-elected Trustee Jim Rhatigan, and our mayor, Kevin Greene. These challenging times will be met as we have always met challenges in Floral Park: honestly, deliberately yet tenaciously, always with equity and fairness as our guide,” he said. Tweedy, a lifelong resident of Floral Park, closed his speech thanking his family for their support during the campaign.
After Tweedy’s remarks, Trustee Rhatigan, a 30-plus year resident of Floral Park, amused audience members with a brief acceptance speech. “I could provide no greater sentiment of my thanks other than to say I echo what Tom said and let my brevity express my gratitude, thank you,” Rhatigan stated.
When the polls officially closed on March 16, 2010, Floral Park village officials were uncertain of the outcome. What was thought to be a routine uncontested election, turned into a race vying for one of two open trustee seats. In the end, the incumbents prevailed with Trustee Thomas Tweedy receiving 862 votes and Trustee James E. Rhatigan receiving 857 votes. Write-in candidate Robert Kloepfer received 362 of the votes. An additional seven votes were split between other write-in candidates. According to village officials, a total of 2,088 votes were cast.
