HICKSVILLE, NY(TIP): An era ended with the resignation of Joseph Mondello, who has chaired the Nassau County Republican Party for the past 35 years.

Although his announcement cites a desire to spend more time with his wife, kids and grandkids as the reason for stepping down, Mondello, 72, is up for an ambassadorship to Trinidad and Tobago, and has long been expected to give up the chairmanship.

He went out with one last salute to his allies and a final barb to his antagonists in the media. “No matter what the future holds, or where that future takes me a big part of me will always be here – at 164 Post Avenue – where so much history was made – and no matter what the media says – so much good was done for the people of Nassau County,” he said in a statement.

What now for the future of the Nassau County Republican Party and its leadership? The county committee is expected to meet Thursday and a vote on leadership could come then. But in some ways, the future is as uncertain as it was when Mondello took over after the conviction of his predecessor, the late Joseph Margiotta, on extortion and mail fraud charges.