Executive Director of the Rockland County Drainage Agency Vincent Altieri is sworn in by Ernest S. Buonocore as Acting Village Justice during Monday’s special Suffern Village Board meeting. The Rockland County Republican party turned out for the occasion.

Call it the Ed Day difference. Or call it a strategy of strict party discipline and loyalty, i.e., the will to power.

Suffern’s Village Hall auditorium was fairly full for Monday evening’s reorganizational meeting that included a round of thanks to Rockland’s Republican establishment.

The turn out from town and county members demonstrated the Republican party discipline that delivered the difference on election night for Markunas and company. It was also further proof that Rockland County Executive Ed Day helped engineer the Markunas effort which steamrolled local Suffern Democrats at the ballot in November.

Ed Markunas, with family, was sworn in as Suffern Mayor during Monday evening’s annual reorganizational meeting. Markunas thanked Ed Day and the leadership of Rockland’s and Ramapo’s Republican party.

Newly sworn in Mayor Ed Markunas was fairly effusive in praise of Day and party leadership. Markunas then moved along, doling out the spoils as he made appointments to key village positions.

Trustee Bob Morris was selected Deputy Mayor. Executive Director of the Rockland County Drainage Agency Vincent Altieri was named Acting Village Justice. Former Town of Clarkstown Deputy Attorney Daniel Kraushaar took over as Terry Rice, ending Rice’s 35 years on the Suffern dais.

Two posts left unresolved at the public meeting were the positions of village clerk and treasurer. According to LoHud’s Alex Taylor (and first reported by Suffern Friends and Neighbors), longtime Village Clerk Virginia Menschner will almost certainly not be reappointed to that position.

“We indicated to Virginia she can continue to serve the village as long as she likes,” Suffern Mayor Ed Markunas said, referring to longtime Village Clerk Virginia Menschner. “But most likely not in the capacity of village clerk.” — from LoHud reporter Alex Taylor’s article 

Mayor Markunas said certain village positions were still being worked out. The clerk’s seat on the dais was empty at Monday’s meeting, a telling sign. Also open was Markuhas’ former trustee position — a plumb appointment.

Markunas made no mention of the Village Treasurer — a key role as the village fights to recover from fiscal distress. Trustee Markunas and Suffern Treasurer Mike Genito, appointed treasurer by Trish Abato, had a number of public disagreements during Suffern’s 2015 budget process.

Markunas told the gathering Monday night that his goal was to “remove the mark of shame” Suffern suffered as being named the most fiscally stressed village in the state by NY Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office.

Outgoing Acting Village Justice Stephanie Furgang Adwar took to the podium during public comments and thanked the people of Suffern.

Adwar said the Suffern Police Department is perhaps one of the most important ingredients to Suffern’s quality of life, explaining that most of Suffern’s crime is pass through, and comes from people outside the village.

She then cautioned Mayor Markunas and the board to remember those village values that make Suffern special, reminding them to retain institutional memory.

Institutional memory, Adwar said, reminds us of who we are.