Mt. Pleasant Appoints Valhalla School Trustee Interim Councilman
A 24-year-old Valhalla Board of Education member was appointed Tuesday by the Mount Pleasant Town Board to fill the seat that will be soon be vacated by Councilman Mark Rubeo.
The Town Board unanimously supported Anthony Amiano to the interim post, which he will take over on June 1. That is the same day the outgoing councilman will replace Town Justice Nicholas Maselli, who recently announced his resignation from the bench.
Shortly after his appointment, Amiano, a Republican, said he planned to run in the special election for the final year of Rubeo’s four-year term in November and a full term in 2019.
“I am honored by the opportunity to serve the residents of the Town of Mount Pleasant,” Amiano said. “I’m really excited about what’s going on in town right now. One particular area is the Master Plan (update).”
The document’s update will help determine the town’s direction for many years, he said.
“I think this is a great opportunity to get involved,” Amiano said.
Amiano will resign from the Valhalla Board of Education where he has served since 2014. He worked as an aide to former county legislator Michael Smith, a Republican, and was a supporter of former county executive Rob Astorino, who similarly was elected to a school board seat at a young age followed by service on the Mount Pleasant Town Board.
Amiano also has served on the town’s Architectural Review Board and was on the Westchester County Parks Board for two years each and is very active with Holy Name of Jesus Church in Valhalla.
He works in the Berkeley College president’s office as a communications and planning specialist.
“I’ll use my experience from the school board to make sure that the town is living within its means, making sure it’s affordable for residents currently and also for residents like myself who want to be here for 10, 20, 30 more years,” Amiano said.
He will focus on smart economic development and growing the tax base while balancing the effect on the schools, the environment, infrastructure and traffic.
Amiano was praised by Town Board members at Tuesday’s meeting. Rubeo said there were other qualified candidates for the interim appointment and it was a difficult decision for the board to make.
“At the end of the day what stood out for us is Mr. Amiano’s experience,” Rubeo said.
“Anthony has proven himself to be very accessible to the public, in fact, perhaps at times a little bit too accessible,” said Councilwoman Laurie Smalley. “However, that is a strength that he has, the ability to engage the public in discussion. I’ve seen it over the years.”
Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said Amiano is reliable, honest and positive.
“I know that he will be a really good part of this Town Board moving forward,” Fulgenzi said. “And having somebody a little bit younger on the board I think gives us some better ideas moving forward for our future.”
“I think and I hope this is the beginning of long service to the public,” Councilman Nicholas DiPaolo added. “I think Anthony has some great ideas and he’s certainly one of the hardest working people I’ve seen around so I’m excited to have him.”
Town Board members receive an annual $20,000 stipend.
