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08-19-2003, 06:34 PM
By Emi Endo
Staff Writer
August 20, 2003
Edward Romaine, a Republican candidate for Suffolk County executive, Tuesday called for the ouster of county GOP chairman Thomas M. Neppell Jr., saying the party needs new leadership.
In a written statement, Romaine said the party under Neppell is "going in the wrong direction," and said the party should be "governed from the bottom up, not from the top down."
Efforts to reach Neppell Tuesday were not successful.
Romaine, who is also the Suffolk county clerk, urged local Republican leaders to choose a new chairman at the party's convention next month.
"We need a party that is more inclusive -- more responsive to its members and committee people. We need a party with a platform of new ideas, capable of setting a new agenda for Suffolk County," he said in the statement.
"I want to ensure that all voices are heard in the Republican Party, that we broaden our base and that we focus on ideas that will demonstrate that this party is solely responsive to the people, that the people are its special interest and no one else."
Through a spokesman, Alan Eysen, Romaine declined to comment further.
Chief Deputy Comptroller Joseph Poerio, a supporter of Neppell, said Tuesday he was puzzled by Romaine's statement. "I think Tom has done a good job," Poerio said.
Romaine had expressed similar sentiments when he was selected as the party's designee for county executive, saying the GOP needed to change how it defines itself.
Neppell, a former Brookhaven town chairman who hails from a generation of strong-willed GOP town leaders that dominated the party in the 1960s and 1970s, was elected to the leadership post in March after Anthony Apollaro stepped down. His win prompted critic Supervisor Pete McGowan to take himself out of the running as a contender for county executive in protest.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
Staff Writer
August 20, 2003
Edward Romaine, a Republican candidate for Suffolk County executive, Tuesday called for the ouster of county GOP chairman Thomas M. Neppell Jr., saying the party needs new leadership.
In a written statement, Romaine said the party under Neppell is "going in the wrong direction," and said the party should be "governed from the bottom up, not from the top down."
Efforts to reach Neppell Tuesday were not successful.
Romaine, who is also the Suffolk county clerk, urged local Republican leaders to choose a new chairman at the party's convention next month.
"We need a party that is more inclusive -- more responsive to its members and committee people. We need a party with a platform of new ideas, capable of setting a new agenda for Suffolk County," he said in the statement.
"I want to ensure that all voices are heard in the Republican Party, that we broaden our base and that we focus on ideas that will demonstrate that this party is solely responsive to the people, that the people are its special interest and no one else."
Through a spokesman, Alan Eysen, Romaine declined to comment further.
Chief Deputy Comptroller Joseph Poerio, a supporter of Neppell, said Tuesday he was puzzled by Romaine's statement. "I think Tom has done a good job," Poerio said.
Romaine had expressed similar sentiments when he was selected as the party's designee for county executive, saying the GOP needed to change how it defines itself.
Neppell, a former Brookhaven town chairman who hails from a generation of strong-willed GOP town leaders that dominated the party in the 1960s and 1970s, was elected to the leadership post in March after Anthony Apollaro stepped down. His win prompted critic Supervisor Pete McGowan to take himself out of the running as a contender for county executive in protest.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.