At a meeting held on Nov. 28, Bruce Kennedy tendered his resignation as mayor of the Village of Sea Cliff and was then appointed as the village administrator. The Board of Trustees appointed trustee Edward Lieberman to complete the term of mayor ending in April.
John Mirando resigned from his position as village administrator on Nov. 7 to accept a position in the City of Long Beach. Monday’s meeting was convened to review applications and resumes that had been submitted to the village for the administrator’s position.
“Mayor Kennedy had voluntarily and without compensation stepped up to fulfill the responsibilities of the administrator’s role until a replacement had been found,” said trustee Robin Maynard. “This is one of the leadership qualities that Bruce always exhibits; he just steps up and gets things done.”
Trustee Kevin McGilloway said, “The Board of Trustees is deeply appreciative of Mayor Kennedy’s hard work and commitment to the village. For the past eight years the village has been blessed with a hands-on mayor that gets things done. Being that the mayor was wavering on whether he would seek re-election in March, the board and I thought that this was an incredible opportunity to get Bruce on the staff. Ed is the senior trustee and the obvious choice for our next mayor.”
Trustee Dina Epstein expressed her gratitude and admiration for Kennedy’s results-driven mindset.
“Bruce is the person that you call when things need to get done,” said Epstein. “He is never focused on the problems, only the solutions. He was the obvious choice to fill the role of village administrator.”
Lieberman, the newly appointed mayor, was in agreement and added, “I am honored to succeed Mayor Bruce Kennedy as the mayor of the Village of Sea Cliff. Bruce has been a mentor to me, always providing vision, support and guidance. He has left a huge set of shoes to fill and I am appreciative of the board’s vote of confidence in me. The Village of Sea Cliff has become a jewel of the Gold Coast under his esteemed leadership and achievement. I look forward to serving the residents of Sea Cliff in my new capacity.”
Kennedy owns two businesses that he will be divesting himself from after 30 years, but sees this as a new challenge and opportunity.
“When the offer of the position was raised, I was torn. This is an incredible opportunity for me to continue the work of public service to my community in a new role,” said Kennedy. “While I would have rather completed the last few months of my term, the two positions are incompatible and should not be fulfilled by a single person.”
Kennedy added, “I am so incredibly grateful to the residents of Sea Cliff that elected and trusted me for my four terms as mayor. I am looking forward to this new chapter and position. Edward Lieberman is a good man and I am fully confident in his ability to lead our village as mayor.”
