The Suffolk County Legislature at its meeting on Tuesday voted to reappoint Elizabeth Mercado to a full five-year term on the Suffolk County Water Authority Board in a 17-0 vote with one abstention. Mercado was initially appointed to the board in 2019 to fill the seat vacated by Patrick Halpin when he resigned to become board chairman.
Mercado, of Brentwood, will be sworn in at the SCWA Board meeting on Thursday, March 25.
“In her two years serving on the board, Elizabeth Mercado has brought a unique perspective on many issues,” Halpin said. “Her more than 20 years of professional experience in customer service combined with her extensive management experience as president of the board of a large school district and her service on the executive board of Communications Workers of America Local 1105 have proven to be great assets to the SCWA Board and to all SCWA customers.”
“I was proud to have sponsored the resolution to reappoint Elizabeth Mercado as a member of the Suffolk County Water Authority Board,” said Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Rob Calarco. “Ms. Mercado has served with the utmost professionalism since joining the board in 2019, and I know she will continue to be an asset to the board in its efforts to provide safe, high-quality drinking water to Suffolk County residents.”
“I’m extremely grateful to the members of the Suffolk County Legislature for reappointing me to serve as a member of the SCWA Board,” said Mercado. “As a board member, I have sought to use my extensive background in customer service to always consider the needs of SCWA customers. In my second term, I will continue to do so as we seek to continue to provide the best possible water at the lowest possible price.”
Mercado has more than 20 years experience as a customer care sales representative for Verizon and currently serves as an executive board member of Communications Workers of America Local 1105 and on CWA’s National Women’s Committee. She also served for three years as president of the Brentwood Board of Education and is a member of Islip Town branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) and the National Association for Latino Elected Officials (NALEO).
The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating under the authority of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving approximately 1.2 million Suffolk County residents, the Authority operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.