North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman and the town board have announced that former Republican Councilman Jim O'Connor has been picked to head the Town's Building Department. O'Connor, who was appointed with unanimous bipartisan support, will head the department's new management team.

"Jim O'Connor brings the necessary leadership, knowledge, and skills as a manager and attorney to help us build an open, modern, efficient building department," said Kaiman. "This position calls for someone who can apply the rules, codes, laws and policies to construction and development industry in our town and manage the personnel who are our front line in enforcement and inspection. Jim O'Connor is just the man to do this."

An established litigator and manager, O'Connor has served as Special Deputy Superintendent of Insurance of New York Liquidation Bureau and was previously appointed by the governor to serve as chief legal officer for the New York State Insurance Fund. A former North Hempstead resident and graduate of Carle Place High School, O'Connor served as a town councilman from 1998 to 2001.

"I am honored by the confidence that the supervisor and the town council have entrusted me with and I look forward to this opportunity," said O'Connor.

The North Hempstead Town Board previously approved the appointment of Jay Lal as the Department's chief deputy. Lal previously served as director of special projects for Nassau Community College and has held senior positions with the New York City School Construction Authority and the New York City Housing Authority.

In addition, the town hired Cecelia Ward as a consultant overseeing the department's information technology integration. Ward is the former commissioner of Planning and Economic Development for the town and director of Construction Services Bureau for the City of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

"This management team brings skills, leadership, integrity, and commitment to public service all to the table at once," added Kaiman. "With this new management team, the new technology and the modern management procedures that we are bringing to this department, the North Hempstead Building Department will be a model for others throughout the country within a year's time."

O'Connor walks into a building department that has had its share of troubles in recent days. The department is the subject of an ongoing investigation from the Nassau County District Attorney and the Grand Jury for past practices.

Although O'Connor served as a Republican councilman, his hiring has been criticized by the Town of North Hempstead Republican Committee. Chairman Peter Cavallaro called O'Connor a friend and a terrific councilman, but said in a press release by the committee, "The town board should have hired a seasoned zoning and planning professional to head this important and decimated department. His appointment has more to do with politics and damage control than it does with good government or righting the wrongs in the building department."