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Southampton Village Attorney Brian Egan, seen above at a recent zoom teleconference, has resigned.
In less than two weeks, the Southampton Village Board could, once again, be searching for a new village attorney. On Monday, January 25, the village’s current attorney, Brian Egan, tendered a letter of resignation.
“I’m obviously not happy,” Mayor Jesse Warren said Monday morning. “It was a bit of a surprise.”
A copy of the resignation letter obtained by The Express News Group raises more questions than it answers. Addressed to the mayor, it states, “… It has become clear that we have a dissimilarity in our approach to the conduct of village government … My professional judgment and experience in municipal government now obliges me to tender my resignation as Village Attorney effective February 5, 2021.”
“He did a good job for us,” the mayor said. “Brian was very proactive about getting a lot of legislation done,” Mr. Warren continued, listing a raft of initiatives — accessory apartment legislation, the window law, dark skies measures — among Mr. Egan’s accomplishments. Early on in the pandemic, he helped with crafting emergency orders for the village, the mayor mentioned, and finalized leases for Heart of the Hamptons and the Southampton Arts Center.
The mayor declined to offer further illumination as to the reason for Mr. Egan’s resignation. Mr. Egan did not return calls seeking comment.
Mr. Egan, in his letter, extolled the efforts of dedicated village employees and elected officials, noting, “we have advanced significant and meaningful legislation and provided leadership during a period of unprecedented crisis and change.”
The Patchogue-based attorney of the firm Egan & Golden LLP started with the village last February, after weeks of board bickering. Mr. Egan was the mayor’s first choice to fill the position, but colleagues wanted to see a slate of candidates. Mr. Warren’s refusal to countenance the request led to an impasse that lasted weeks.
The board operated without a permanent village attorney for over three months after the mayor fired legal counsel that predated his tenure at the helm.
In October 2019, a little over 100 days into his term, Mayor Warren fired Village Attorney Wayne Bruyn and in a split vote dismissed Beau Robinson who served as counsel to village regulatory boards. Board member Andrew Pilaro abstained on the second vote and member Mark Parash voted no.
Then-colleagues Kimberly Allan and Richard Yastrzemski voted, along with the mayor, to replace Mr. Robinson with Alice Cooley and David Kirst, both of the East Hampton-based law firm Matthews, Kirst and Cooley to serve the Planning Board, ARB and ZBA. Alexandra Halsey-Storch of Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin and Quartararo, was appointed as an assistant village attorney and filled in until Mr. Egan was hired. She has since moved on.
“Brian was a pleasure to work with, “ Village Board member Joseph McLoughlin said Tuesday, lauding the attorney’s insight and institutional knowledge. Neither he, not colleague Gina Arresta could articulate any reason for the attorney’s departure, both deferring to the mayor’s office. “He served the village well,” Ms. Arresta said. “I thank him for his service and wish him all the best.”
Mr. Egan was “handpicked” by the mayor, Mr. Parash reminded, praising the legal expert as someone who “truly cared about the village.”
The board has had three lawyers in less than two years, Mr. Parash pointed out. “It hurts the village to have these gaps,” he said. “We have to find someone quickly. We've got to do better.”
Mayor Warren said he has tasked Village Administrator Charlene Kagel with finding candidates for the board to consider. “We’ll look at a few candidates. We want to have a process,” he said, adding that Mr. Egan will be available to assist with the transition.
