Byrne succeeds Odell next month
Kevin Byrne, the state Assembly member who ran unopposed for Putnam County executive, on Dec. 23 announced appointments for his incoming administration.
He will succeed MaryEllen Odell, a fellow Republican, who could not run because of term limits.
The appointments include:
- Compton Spain as county attorney. He will resign, as of Jan. 1, as a partner in Spain & Spain, his family law firm, and step down as secretary of the Putnam County Conservative Party.
- Thomas Feighery, the deputy county executive, as acting commissioner of the Department of Highway and Facilities. He has supervised commercial, residential, and tunnel construction for 30 years in Manhattan with the Local 147 Sandhogs.
- John Tully, the deputy commissioner for Highway and Facilities, will become director of purchasing.
- Robert Lipton, the deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Emergency Services since 2013, will become its interim commissioner.
In addition, Byrne has asked a number of commissioners and directors to continue in their roles, including Bill Carlin (finance), Dr. Michael Neisheiwat (health), Alex Roehner (emergency medical services), John O’Connor (emergency management), Michael Cunningham (senior resources), John Osterhout (probation), Tracey Walsh (tourism) and Karl Rohde (veterans’ services).
Byrne said the evaluation process began in October and included “hundreds of hours” spent “interviewing candidates, reviewing department operations and evaluating existing programs.”
