ONLINE EDITION FRIDAY NOVEMBER 02, 2001

News

Kate Murray, the New York State Assemblywoman for the 19th District since 1998, is running for the town clerk position in the Town of Hempstead. Murray is running on the Republican party line and faces Democratic candidate Scottie Coads.

A resident of Levittown all her life, Murray said that she was approached by the Republican leadership back in the spring when Dan Fisher, Hempstead Town Clerk for 21 years, announced his intention to retire after this term. When asked if she would be interested in running for the position, Murray, although very happy in her role as assemblywoman, said she was delighted.

"Quite frankly I was very happy being a legislator and wasn't necessarily looking for a change because I really do love what I do," she said. "But when I was approached with the opportunity I was delighted, I really was honored."

Murray said that one of the main reasons she was excited about running for town clerk was the fact that she would be helping even more people than she currently does in the 19th District. In addition, she was honored to be asked to fill "such big shoes" of the current clerk.

"The opportunity was really big," Murray said. "Currently I represent approximately 120,000 constituents and I've loved representing every one of them, but with this opportunity I'd be representing every resident in the Town of Hempstead, which is approximately 750,000, so it was a real challenge and opportunity for me to expand the number of people that I can represent and help.

"Dan Fisher has been an award-winning clerk all these years. His office has been fabulously run. It's also an administrative challenge," Murray said of the position. "Where as a legislator we obviously deal with various laws and creating those laws, the town clerk has a very deeply administrative aspect to the job. It's incredible the areas over which [the clerk] has control and jurisdiction." Murray added that many of the residents throughout the town that she has dealt with were not aware of the all the responsibilities that the town clerk possesses.

Among the responsibilities of the town clerk are maintaining town board records, publishing notes of public hearings, recording town ordinances, local laws, personnel actions, petitions, proof of publication, annual budgets, fiscal reports and zoning ordinances. In addition, the town clerk issues every license, birth and death certificates, regulates funeral homes, taxicabs, games of chance, tow trucks and acts as the official archivist for the town.

"Being the largest town in the country, it's really a phenomenal job," Murray said, noting the Town of Hempstead is bigger than the size of four different states. "I think people are continually amazed at the broad scope of the job. It really takes in a multitude of areas and it's all very much regulated by state law."

Murray said that her past experiences, both as an assemblywoman and an attorney, make her well-suited for the position.

"I think as a state legislator, a person who has made laws, created laws, enacted laws; and as an attorney, whose whole career is governed and guided by laws, I'm particularly suited to work within the parameters of the clerk's office," she said. "That's a good challenge for me, it's a big job because there are so many aspects."

Noting that the town clerk's office is very much bound by state law, Murray added, "As a legislator from the other side, as a person who has made laws, I am certainly very well-versed in legislative process and the whole law-making process in Albany. I think that experience will give me a comfortable familiarity with that legislative process of the parameters I'm bound by New York State law," she said, adding that her experiences as an attorney will certainly help her as well. "That's something I've done my whole life," she said. "I think those two career paths have certainly prepared me to be town clerk."

While she feels that the number of people whom she would be able to help every day is one of the enticing aspects of the job, Murray said that the administrative challenge is what she would most look forward to if elected.

"Running the office efficiently, running a large staff efficiently, and bottom line, providing the best customer service to the departments," Murray said is what she looks forward to most. "This department [in particular] has a very serious customer service mission. It involves a direct interaction with the public."

Murray noted that her time in the assembly has given her numerous opportunities to work with the public, and that she enjoys meeting with residents and trying to do what she can to help them.

"There's a real serious interaction that is involved, and that aspect interfaces with my life as a legislator," Murray said. "I think the customer service aspect is very similar in the town clerk's office as well. That interaction with the public is very important to me. I think that's a fun part of the job."

Murray added that the mission of good customer service will be a primary goal of hers if she is elected.

"I think the most exciting aspect for me as I look forward to success is the idea of the customer service mission of the clerk's office," Murray said. "It's currently an award-winning office, a very technologically advanced office, and I look forward to continuing being on the cutting edge technologically and with my staff in being the most aggressive advocates for customer service that each and every town clerk employee could be. That's my primary mission, to keep the customers, the residents happy. That's a challenge based on the huge number of people that walk through the clerk's office every day. That's an exciting challenge for me."

Editor's Note: Scottie Coads did not submit a photo for publication.

Hazel Scottie Coads is running for Hempstead Town Clerk on the Democratic party line. She is facing Republican Kate Murray in the Nov. 6 election.

A Town of Hempstead resident for over 25 years, Coads said, "I decided to run because I've been involved in the community for many years and certainly have been very involved in party organizing, as well as community issues and better quality of life issues in Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead on many levels. I think I can make a difference with that added progressive voice that's needed in government."

Coads said that although the office of town clerk is primarily an administrative position, she thinks her past experiences will help her be a voice for the community.

"I have been so involved in the community with so many issues, I think I can make a real difference being a part of government," she said.

Coads said that her past experiences will certainly help her in the town clerk's position if she is elected. Presently an executive assistant to a president of a major corporation, Coads also worked in town government as the chief of staff for former Councilman Scott Banks.

"I feel very capable and qualified for the job, [especially] the administrative part of it," Coads said. "Also, I owned my own business for a period of time and still do in partnership with my husband in a clinic. Administratively, I'm able to do the job."

Coads added that she is very interested in the labor issues throughout the town. She said that it's important to her to have the best people work as town employees, ensuring they give the best services to their constituents, the residents of the Town of Hempstead.

"I'm very concerned that there have been people at the town for years working part-time status and not being paid or not having benefits, never making full-time status," she said.

Coads added that one of her pet peeves is the fact that oftentimes there are street signs that are not clearly visible at night. "It's very frustrating, especially if it's raining or it's dark," she said. "It may not seem important to some people, but as I watch residents in the Town of Hempstead getting older, having more difficulty with things, it's one of the simpler things that I'd like to see change."

In addition to the possibility of illuminating or installing larger street signs, Coads would like to see more handicap accessible taxis throughout the town.

"I'm not saying it can be done but I think my voice in looking out for certain things for some of our golden people in our community can make a difference," she said. "I think it's something to be explored."

Realizing that her position is mainly administrative, Coads said that her presence in the town could help bring such issues to the board's attention, hopefully resulting in action.

"I think we deserve, in the Town of Hempstead, to get what we pay for, and the services can be improved," she said. "I'd like to be a part of pushing for things to happen and a better quality of life for all the Town of Hempstead."

Coads added that if elected, she thinks her voice will help residents of the community.

"I think with the voice that I have, working with everybody, and that would be across the board, having nothing to do with party affiliation, [would] help make things happen. When I worked for the councilman, we did so many things together. I assisted him in drafting the resolution to do away with park user fees in the Town of Hempstead and just fought hard for certain areas where the parks were kind of forgotten."

She added that in addition to some of the parks still being forgotten, she would love to see more revitalization on major roads such as Hempstead Turnpike.

"I can remember 25 years ago it was just so beautiful to ride down Hempstead Turnpike," she said. Realizing that while businesses have moved and many changes have occurred on such major roads, she added "Now it's just not the Hempstead Turnpike it used to be. I would just love to see that kind of thing happen again, that we have our communities back to what [they were] and better. I realize that [some of them] are county roads but it's all part of my interest and concern for communities."

Coads added that Dan Fisher, current town clerk, has done a wonderful job while in office.

"I think he's one of the nicest people that I knew at Town Hall," she said. "I'm hoping to do as good a job and better and improve where improvement is needed."

Longtime residents of West Hempstead, Coads and her husband have two adult children. Coads said that she enjoys living in this municipality.

"I like all of the beauty that comes with the Town of Hempstead; our beautiful beaches and, in many areas, our beautiful parks; and that's not to say that I won't fight for those areas where the parks have just been forgotten," she said. "Long Island is a beautiful place to live and to be in the Town of Hempstead, in the spring, to ride down some of the major streets and see the beautiful flowering trees; I think it's just a great place to live. But there are things that we're missing with our residents, improvements that need to be made in certain areas and that's just not being done."

The candidate added that she thinks her presence on the town board can help the town and its residents.

"I hope that I can be a voice and strong advocate for the community, and still do the job as a town clerk," she said. "I hope I can do this [while caring] about the town and equal employment for everyone."