By Camryn Bowden
The Oyster Bay Town Board is once again full, closing a vacancy opened by Michele Johnson with newly appointed Andrew Monteleone, who will hold this position until the general election in November.
Johnson stepped down from her position as council member after she was elected District Court judge in 2024, which left a vacancy that Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino was tasked with filling. On Feb. 11, he did just that, selecting Monteleone for the role.
Bowden // Long Island Advocate
On Jan. 1, Johnson wrote in a Facebook post about leaving the town board. “This transition is both bittersweet and exciting. While I will deeply miss working directly with the residents of our town in this capacity, I am humbled by the opportunity to continue serving our community through the judicial system,” she wrote.
Saladino noted that Johnson, who had served in her role as councilwoman since 2013, “brought a lot to the table.” Saladino also said that “she is and continues to be an amazing person.”
Following that short moment, Saladino highlighted Monteleone as a model community member of Syosset and the Town of Oyster Bay, and shared his excitement over Monteleone joining the board as a councilman.
“After very careful consideration, we are now advancing the appointment of Andrew Monteleone of Syosset. Andrew brings a wealth of so much to this appointment,” Saladino said.
He continued, sharing that Monteleone “has experience in public service, experience in community service [and] quite a bit of community engagement.
“He’s a fine lawyer. He understands the law. And as a prosecutor, he understands how to root out problems and protect our residents. So all of these items are among those things that brought Andrew to us and why we made this decision today,” Saladino said.
According to the Oyster Bay Town website, Monteleone has held a number of roles, including as a member of Oyster Bay’s Zoning Board of Appeals and as a Nassau County assistant district attorney early in his career.
During the vote to approve Monteleone’s appointment, Councilman Louis Imbroto also shared some quick remarks. “Having known Andrew for many, many years since I first became a lawyer, I also proudly vote ‘aye.’ He’s going be so great,” he said.
All council members affirmed Monteleone’s appointment to the board. Standing beside his sons, wife and parents, Monteleone shared remarks on this new position.
“I want to thank supervisor Saladino and the the town board for giving me the honor of being able to serve on, in my opinion, one of the best town boards that this this town has ever seen,” Monteleone said, “I promise that I will serve [the board] faithfully, and I will try my best to live up to the high standards that you all have set. And again, I thank you very much for giving me this opportunity.”
He added, “I’m looking forward to working for the town, and let’s get to work.”
The councilman’s family were also excited at this new opportunity. Rosemary Monteleone, mother of the new councilman, told The Advocate that “we’re proud to have Andrew on the council. We’re very proud.”
According to his Town of Oyster Bay biography, Monteleone has expressed that he is “dedicated to preserving the town’s suburban quality of life while remaining mindful of fiscal responsibility and putting the needs of taxpayers first.”
