Ossining?s openly gay mayor is facing the first challenge of his term as critics voice opposition to the hiring of his domestic partner by a county legislator.

Ossining Mayor Bill Hanauer says there's nothing wrong with the fact that his partner, Allan Stahl, took a job as a research assistant for Westchester Legislator Bill Burton (D-Ossining). The mayor says Stahl was also hired for the $50,000 a year job to reach out to Burton's Spanish-speaking constituents. However, the hiring has raised some eyebrows in the village so Hanauer wrote the village's new ethics board asking board members to review the case.

Hanauer says the controversy is politically driven and a diversion from the real work of the village. Former Ossining Mayor John Perillo says legally and ethically there's probably nothing wrong with the hiring, but it may give the appearance of impropriety. The earliest the ethics board can give the village board a decision is in late February.