Westchester County Appointments Committee Meeting - June 29, 2026: Multiple Board Appointments Approved Unanimously
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Westchester County Appointments Committee Meeting – June 29, 2026
The Westchester County Board of Legislators' Appointments Committee met on Monday, June 29, 2026, at 4:04 PM in the Committee Room at the Michaelian Office Building. Chaired by Legislator Anant Nambiar, the committee considered a total of 10 resolutions appointing or reappointing individuals to various county boards and commissions. All items were approved unanimously (4–0) with Legislator Ulaj absent. The meeting adjourned at 4:31 PM.
Discussion Items
1. Appointment of Violet Ho to the LGBTQ Advisory Board (RES-2026-61)
Violet Ho, a rising senior at Edgemont High School and a queer trans woman of Mandarin and American heritage, introduced herself and shared her experience serving on the board for the past year and a half. She emphasized the board's ability to make impactful decisions affecting Westchester's queer community. Legislator Nambiar and Legislator Puja commended her youth perspective and engagement. The resolution (2026-291) was moved by Legislator Puja, seconded by Legislator Clements, and passed unanimously.
2. Reappointment of Leonard Townes as Commissioner of Social Services (RES-2026-63)
The committee approved a five-year reappointment of Leonard Townes as Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Social Services, effective February 26, 2026 through February 26, 2031. Mr. Townes was not present. The motion was made by Legislator Clements, seconded by Legislator Puja, and passed unanimously.
3. Appointment of Andrew Sandor to the Veterans' Advisory Council (2026-281)
Andrew Sandor, a Marine Corps veteran who served from 1991 to 1995 during the Gulf War period and is current commander of the North Salem American Legion Post, presented his background and interest. He highlighted challenges in engaging younger veterans and mentioned programs like Guardian Revival and vet-to-vet. Legislators noted his retirement as fire chief of the New Rochelle Fire Department and discussed housing as a key issue for younger veterans. The motion was made by Legislator Clements, seconded by Legislator Puja, and passed unanimously.
4. Appointment of Chester B. Edwards to the Veterans' Advisory Council (2026-282)
Chester B. Edwards, a Vietnam combat veteran and former EMT and fire chief, described his extensive involvement with veteran organizations and his own nonprofit. He advocated for tiny-house housing solutions for veterans, citing properties like an unused DOT parcel near Rye Country Day School, and raised transportation barriers to VA appointments. Legislators thanked him for his service and expressed support for his housing ideas. The motion by Legislator Clements, seconded by Legislator Puja, passed unanimously.
5. Appointment of Pietro A. Catizone to the Professional Prequalification Board (2026-280)
Pietro A. Catizone, a civil engineer with over 30 years of experience and founder of Catizone Engineering, explained his background in site civil engineering, municipal review, and developer work. He serves on the STEM executive board. Legislator Nambiar noted he is a constituent of the district. The motion by Legislator Nambiar, seconded by Legislator Clements, passed unanimously.
6–10. Reappointments (Approved Without Discussion)
All remaining reappointments were moved and seconded in succession, each passing unanimously with no additional discussion:
- 2026-283: Reappointment of Jeffrey Coleman to the Refuse Disposal District No. 1 Advisory Board (term May 11, 2026 – December 31, 2027).
- 2026-284: Reappointment of George J. Mottarella to the Refuse Disposal District No. 1 Advisory Board (term May 11, 2026 – December 31, 2027).
- 2026-285: Reappointment of Jeffrey Coleman to the Traffic Safety Board (term May 11, 2026 – December 31, 2028).
- 2026-286: Reappointment of Novica Prekpala to the Traffic Safety Board (term May 11, 2026 – December 31, 2028).
- 2026-287: Reappointment of Paul Summerfield to the Traffic Safety Board (term May 11, 2026 – December 31, 2028).
Key Outcomes
- All 10 resolutions were advanced unanimously (4–0) from committee to the full Board of Legislators for final approval.
- No public comments were received.
- The meeting was adjourned at 4:31 PM.
Meeting Transcript
This meeting is being recorded and summarized. All right, you're good to start. Okay. Good afternoon. My name is Anand Fambier. I am the chair of the appointments committee. I'm gonna call this meeting to order at 4.04. And I'm gonna start by taking attendance. I am here. Legislative Punzio? Here. You legislative Puja? Here. Thank you, Legislative Uli, and Chairman Goshi. Okay. So we're gonna go ahead and start, and we're gonna start with the first two items, which uh we are gonna do kind of out of sequence. Um well the first one is 2026-291, which is the appointment of Violet Ho uh as member of the Westchester County LGBTQ advisory board. Um Violet, thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me. Great. And so typically what we do is we just uh you know ask you to introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about yourself and tell us your interest in joining the board, and then we might have some questions for you after that. So please go ahead and introduce yourself. Okay, um hi everyone. I'm Violet Ho, and um I'm I was part of the advisory board because um I'm a queer youth person and also um a trans woman of five years. Um I'm of uh Mandarin and American heritage, and I was born and raised in Westchester, and I started out in Urichell and then I came to Scarsdale, but I've been a part of the community since I was very little, and I feel like joining the board has really opened my eyes. Wonderful. Well, thank thank you first of all for um for your interest in in joining the board. Uh and obviously I don't I don't think we get too many candidates as young as yourself. So quickly just tell us yourself. Are you a you're still a student in school at Scarsdale? What grade are you going into? Or uh what are your thoughts and plans? Yeah, um I joined the advisory board like um a year and a half ago, but I never like officially did this until now. But right now, um I'm in 12th grade and I'm going to college like in a few months, but yeah, I just wanted to do this first. And um, I go to Edgemont High School, which is in Scarsdale. Right. And I just want to mark for the note for the record that uh Vice Chair Clemens has joined us as well. Um once again, Bilo, thank you again. And so you've had some experience with the board. What are your thoughts so far in terms of your just your your your interactions? Yeah, I think it's um a really interesting board. Like before, um, I had this different perspective, and then now I've gained a new one. Like we've been able to make decisions that affect all of Westchester's um career community, and it's like been really impactful for me as well as for other people, and I really like being able to make those decisions with the group like the advisory board. Yeah, it must be great to have first your perspective as well in terms of just the different you know age cohort that you can represent and and help us think about. So thank you for that. Um I'm gonna open it up, I'm gonna open it up to my colleagues for any questions from uh any of the legislators. Legislative Puja, please. Just a comment. Um, nice to meet you. Thank you.
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