Ugly Firing of YR Prez in Huntington

By Maureen Daly

The Deputy Communications Director for the Town of Huntington, Christine Oddo, was abruptly fired from her Town post this past Tuesday. Oddo was seen being brusquely escorted out of Town Hall by armed Town Public Safety officers to her vehicle in the parking lot.

Oddo, age 29, was a well-liked and cheerful presence in Town Hall, and served recently as the President of the Huntington Young Republicans. The highly-public firing sent a shock through Town Hall.

She began her start as a Legislative Secretary for then-Councilman Ed Smyth (R-Lloyd Harbor) in 2018. She was then appointed as Deputy Communications Director by the Town Board in 2022, working with Communications Director Christine Geed.

Oddo attributes her firing as retaliation for an EEO ethics complaint that she filed against Smyth’s Chief of Staff, Michele McCarthy, for discrimination.

The firing was not brought before, nor authorized by, the Town Board.

Interestingly, Oddo is not the first nor only woman town employee recently escorted by armed police out of Town Hall, after filing ethics complaints against Smyth's staff.