Kassal to Resign From New Castle Town Board; Political Barbs Ramp Up
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
New Castle Councilwoman Tara Kassal announced last week that she expects to resign her seat from the Town Board in the upcoming weeks and relocate to New England to be closer to family once the sale of her house is complete.
Kassal, part of the four-candidate Unite New Castle ticket that swept last November’s town election, went public with her statement shortly before the conclusion of the Sept. 20 Town Board meeting.
“That should happen in the next few weeks and at that time I will be resigning my position as councilmember,” Kassal said.
Her pending resignation touched off rampant speculation in the town’s political circles and on social media in the days that followed about when Kassal knew that she intended to relocate and whether she still is a New Castle resident.
Councilman Jeremy Saland said that he learned the week before the meeting that Kassal’s house had been on the market since June. He said he wasn’t questioning her decision to relocate or her reasons for doing so, but believed that there was an obligation on her part, or the other Town Board members’ part if they knew, to make that information clear to the public.
Saland explained that if Kassal knew that she was going to move, then steps could have been taken to have a special election since the filing deadline for a November contest is early August. Instead, the Unite New Castle majority, consisting of Supervisor Lisa Katz and councilmembers Victoria Tipp and Christian Hildenbrand, would be appointing a second member with the public shut out of the process, he said.
“The question I have is for respect for our voters and our constituency,” Saland said. “I don’t know when you had planned on moving. I was not aware until last week.”
Kassal said that in the summer it remained uncertain whether she would go forward with the sale of her house and relocation.
“Political maneuvering was not really top of mind in this scenario to me,” she said.
Earlier, Katz said that Kassal isn’t obligated to step aside until she is ineligible to serve, by no longer being a town resident, or if and when she decides to resign.
Last weekend, in response to questions from The Examiner, Kassal issued a statement that she still is a New Castle resident and will continue serving until she is no longer able to.
“I was elected as a member of the New Castle Town Board in November 2021, and I made a commitment to serve this town, to actively participate in robust discussions, and to contribute my expertise, particularly concerning ongoing matters of development, raised again at the most recent Town Board meeting,” Kassal’s statement read. “Guiding this process effectively for the benefit of our town is precisely why I ran for office. I remain a resident of New Castle, and I will continue to serve the town until my home here is sold.”
For the remainder of the week, town social media chatter went into overdrive with some commenters pointing out that Kassal had joined a Jamestown, R.I. Facebook group at the end of August.
In responding to questions, both Saland and Katz accused each other of lying about the episode for political gain.
Katz said she had learned of Kassal’s likely move the week before the Sept. 20 meeting. She added that the argument was “much ado about nothing.” She said Kassal is under no obligation to resign while she still lives here.
“It’s political maneuvering on (Saland’s) part, trying to make something out of nothing,” Katz said. “Tara is entitled to serve the office to which she was elected as long as she is able to do so.”
Last Saturday, Saland said he found it nearly impossible to believe that Katz or one of the other board members wouldn’t have known that their running mate from last year was putting their house on the market.
He said if he hadn’t found out about Kassal’s intentions, then it probably wouldn’t have led to her announcement at last week’s board meeting.
“Of course these conversations happened, and but for me finding out, this would have never come to the forefront,” Saland said.
Should Kassal go through with her resignation, she would become the fourth New Castle Town Board member to resign in less than two years. Former councilman Jason Lichtenthal left office in December 2020, followed by former supervisor Ivy Pool, who announced in May 2021 that she would be leaving a month later.
Late last summer, Unite New Castle candidate Andrea Sanseverino Galan announced that she would be moving from town, and if elected, would resign the seat. After Unite New Castle swept the election, the current board majority
appointed Hildenbrand.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
