Fran Becker urges brother Hilary to resign as deputy mayor

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In the wake of Lynbrook Deputy Mayor Hilary Becker announcing that he is running against Mayor Alan Beach in the mayoral election on March 19, Hilary’s brother, Fran Becker, has called on him to resign from his position as deputy mayor.

Fran Becker, a former county legislator, said that by accepting the deputy mayor position, it is assumed that Hilary pledges his support and loyalty to Beach, and that he is Beach’s most trusted advisor and ally who will advance the mayor’s agenda governmentally and politically as they serve together on the board.

“When Alan Beach was elected mayor, I recommended to him as one of the founders of the New Vision Party, that he appoint my brother, Hilary, as deputy mayor,” Fran said in a release. “I did not expect that he would ever think of running against Mayor Beach, but would be supportive and loyal to him.”

Fran added that his brother had every right to run for mayor, but requested that he step down as deputy mayor because using the title during his election bid would be “disingenuous and wrong.”

Hilary said he didn’t know why his brother was asking him to resign. “My only guess is that he’s in favor of the no-bid apartment complex,” he said, referencing the Cornerstone at Lynbrook, which was canceled on Nov. 19. “If he’s against this ridiculous project, no-bid, enormous PILOT, he should be with me.” He added that it was “kind of sad” that his brother didn’t support him, because he said he had supported Fran in the past, even when he didn’t agree with him.

On Jan. 2, Hilary announced that he was running against Beach on the new Preserve Lynbrook Party line, along with trustee candidates Antoniella Tavella and Steve Ligouri, who will go up against incumbents Ann Marie Reardon and Robert Boccio.

Fran said that Hilary and the board have worked well together in the past, including revitalizing the downtown with the movie theater and other projects.

“The future is looking very bright for the village and I fully support Alan Beach to continue as mayor and Ann Marie Reardon and Rob Boccio as trustees,” Fran said. “It should not be misunderstood in any way that while I support Mayor Beach’s re-election, I love my brother, always have and always will.”