Citizens’ Party Nominates Thomas Tweedy for Mayor
After more than 16 years of service on the village board of Floral Park, Mayor Kevin Greene has announced that he will not seek re-election in March 2011 when his term expires. Greene, who was expected by many to run for a second term, formally declined the Citizens’ Party nomination in recent weeks.
A member of the village board since 1995, Greene explained his reasons for not seeking re-election and thanked the community for their support during his tenure. “Having been blessed with the chance to serve my hometown for almost 16 years as both your trustee and then your mayor, this decision did not come easy,” Greene wrote in a letter to the Floral Park Dispatch.
“In recent months, my responsibilities at Con Edison, where I am a construction manager, have expanded dramatically. This change in my professional life, coupled with my decision to spend more time with my family helped me to realize I could not continue to oversee affairs in Floral Park with the same level of diligence that I have in the past and in truth, that I was comfortable with as an elected representative,” Greene added.
Last week, the Citizens’ Party convened its annual caucus to nominate its candidates for the 2011 village election. The Citizens’ Party ticket will include Deputy Mayor Thomas Tweedy for mayor; and incumbents Mary-Grace Tomecki and Dominick Longobardi for village trustees; and incumbent Village Justice Douglas Hayden for a four-year term.
Deputy Mayor Tweedy, who was originally appointed by former Mayor Ann Corbett in 2001, was elected to a fifth term as trustee in March 2010. In an interview with the Floral Park Dispatch, the mayoral candidate applauded Greene’s service to the community, noting that his 10 years as a leader in the fire department and 17 years on the village board was extensive. “That’s 27 years that he’s served in executive capacity in the village of Floral Park. This year he celebrated his 35th anniversary as a member of the Floral Park Fire Department. He’s got 47 years of time in Floral Park. That’s laudatory, that’s really something,” Tweedy said.
Tweedy maintained that while he always had long-term aspirations to be mayor of Floral Park, he did not expect to be running for the office so soon. “It should be fun. I am lucky to be running with the people I am. They are a very talented group of people,” he said. “I looking forward to getting out, meeting the residents and talking to them,” he added.
Should Tweedy win in March, he will then appoint a deputy mayor as his replacement during a reorganization meeting in April of 2011.
