Following the Jan. 13 resignation announcement of Hempstead Town Supervisor Rich Guardino, the Republican Party officially nominated current Town Clerk Kate Murray to fill the position of town supervisor. The town board is expected to officially appoint Murray to this post during a Jan. 28 town board meeting, when Guardino will officially step down. Guardino announced his resignation during a press conference at Hofstra University last Monday and stated that he's leaving the political world to become executive dean of the university's Scott Skodnek Business Development Center, where he will oversee its operations. This position is effective Feb. 1.

Murray, who served as New York State Assemblywoman for the 19th District from 1998 until her election to the position of town clerk in 2001, if officially appointed on Jan. 28, will serve as supervisor until January 2004. To keep the position, she will have to be re-elected this November in a town-wide election. She said she is sincerely excited to have been considered for the position and is proud to have been selected. She further noted that she was in wonderful company, having been considered along with Assemblyman Tom Alfano (with whom she served in the Assembly) and Councilman Tony Santino, whom she noted was also highly deserving.

"To be picked for all sorts of reasons is really an honor of a lifetime," Murray said, "and the added layer of being the first woman going for election for Hempstead Town Supervisor is tremendous."

Murray opted to leave her seat in the New York State Assembly to run for town clerk in 2001, she said, because she was honored and delighted to be presented with the opportunity. She stated last year that one of the main reasons she was excited about the town clerk position was because she would be helping even more people than she did in her capacity as assemblywoman. When elected town clerk, Murray went from representing approximately 120,000 constituents in the 19th Assembly District to currently representing, and will continue to do so as town supervisor, approximately 750,000 residents in the Town of Hempstead, the largest township in the country.

"Last year as town clerk I would go to all the senior centers very regularly all over the town and people would ask me, 'do you have any aspirations beyond this?' and I would always say, 'the sky's the limit.' I just didn't think the sky would come one short year into my tenure as town clerk," Murray said. "But if there's one lesson that I've learned in political life it's that timing is everything and opportunities don't come twice."

Murray said that although her tenure as town clerk has been so short, she is confident and eager to take the reins as supervisor.

"This past year has been an extremely educational experience for me. I run what I view as the absolute heart of the Town of Hemsptead in the sense of documents and record keeping and obviously the licenses that we issue. Because I've had that experience of being keeper of all of those records, I've had a great deal of experience delving into all of the departments [and] dealing with all of the department heads," she said. "Also running a staff of almost 100, the administrative sides of running the town clerk's office will stand me in good stead in the 2,000 or so work force that I'm inheriting. It's a little step up in numbers but I do feel that the lessons you learn on the hundred employee level can certainly be applied to larger work forces as well."

Murray also noted that keeping in touch with her constituents has always been and will continue to be a top priority in her position as supervisor.

"I think that in my year as town clerk I tried to be as accessible to my employees and of course to my constituents as possible," Murray said. "I think that's extremely important no matter what elected position you hold. Constant access and interaction with your constituents is one of the most crucial aspects of being a public servant. I'm certainly not going to change that philosophy as I commence my new life as supervisor."

As she steps in to her new position, Murray noted that the big priority in the coming days and weeks will be formulating an agenda.

"That's certainly going to be a priority for me - to begin to create a vision for where I want to see us go and certainly the pattern that has been established through Supervisor Guardino is one that would be very wonderful to replicate," she said, noting that she admires Guardino's three major successes during his time in office - tax stability, improvements and continuation of great services. "Those are three things, off the bat, I absolutely am going to emulate and try to continue and as we expand on those three core issues, in the fullness of time they're going to be discussed and thought about and hopefully implemented. As we go forward we'll be able to talk about new ideas and go from there."

Murray said she's prepared to run in November, since she would have been running anyway as town clerk.

"My running shoes were on already, now it's just running for the top hat. It's interesting as the top of the ticket now, I have considerations beyond myself so I'm going to be working very closely with my town board colleagues so that we present a unified front and a unified message. If we stay on point I think we're all going to be very successful in November."

In addition to being the first woman to be up for election as Hempstead Town Supervisor, Murray was also the first woman and first attorney ever elected to the position of Hempstead Town Clerk. She was previously the first woman and first Levittown native ever elected to represent the 19th Assembly District. Prior to serving in the Assembly, Murray was the Deputy Section Chief of the Criminal Justice Section where she handled prisoner legislation proceedings in New York City and Westchester County. Prior to that, Murray served as an advocate for Suffolk University Battered Women's Advocacy Project where she offered legal representation to victims of domestic violence. In January of 1999, she was named chair of the NYS Assembly Minority Task Force on Education Standards. Murray has long been active in community organizations and politics. She is a graduate of Boston College and Suffolk University Law School. A lifelong resident of Levittown, Murray also attended the Levittown School District from kindergarten through 12th grade.