Politics on the Hudson

At today’s Westchester County Board of Legislators meeting, I couldn’t help but notice a new face sporting one of those new staff “badges”:http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2007/04/09/all-the-pretty-badges/. New to the staff, that is. Neal Rentz was a familiar face in the press gallery at the board back when he worked as a reporter at the North County News, a job he held from 1989 to September of last year. Since then, he’s been writing for The Bedford Record-Review.

Board Chairman William Ryan, D-White Plains, recently hired Rentz as a legislative aide, replacing Christina Giliberti, who left to take a job with the state Senate. Ryan said Rentz will handle “whatever I assign to him,” including possibly some of Ryan’s personal press releases or other media-related items.

Rentz is the second former staffer at the News, which has gone through ownership and leadership changes in the last year, to land on his feet with a county job. Former editor Rick Pezzullo was hired in January as a legislative aide by the board’s GOP caucus. Pezzullo told me today, however, that he had no hand in bringing Rentz on board.

Rentz started his job a week ago, and will make $50,000 annually, according to the board clerk.