Acting Westchester County executive to serve for 5 days until Legislature chooses steady replacement
The county's charter states that for an acting County Executive position, only county department heads can be appointed.
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It's a first for Westchester County: an acting county executive was named by the county Legislature chairman, who will serve for just five days.
Chairman Vedat Gashi swore in Emergency Services commissioner and former Legislator Richard Wishnie as acting county executive.
Rep-elect George Latimer officially resigned from the position at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
He begins work Friday in Washington, DC.
Wishnie is in charge until Monday when the Legislature holds its first meeting of 2025 to appoint a longer-term replacement.
He will handle administrative duties and lead responses to any emergencies.
"A very, very terrific experience for me," Wishnie said of his former and new jobs, "and certainly as I head into the next few days, and who knows what's coming after."
The county's charter states that for an acting county executive position, only county department heads can be appointed.
Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins will likely be appointed to county executive Monday at the next meeting of the legislature.
He said Wishnie will do well until then.
Wishnie says he does not know what is next for him after Monday.
Just six days out from his 82nd birthday, though, he has no plans to retire.
"I'm not sure exactly how the days are going to go forward," Wishnie said. "I'm prepared to go back to my old job or possibly something else."
Once Jenkins is appointed county executive, the Legislature will schedule a special election for a date before the end of March.
The winner will hold the job through the end of the year, which would have been the rest of Latimer's term.
Jenkins plans to run in the special election, and if he wins, he plans to run for a full term that would begin in January 2026.
