Town of Hempstead Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby is well-known in the town's first councilmatic district, which includes a part of Freeport, Hempstead, Lakeview, Roosevelt, Uniondale and part of West Hempstead. But, now, as the Democratic candidate for the town supervisor, Goosby is attempting to get her word out to the town's other five districts.

While she has been busy campaigning, Goosby, who was originally elected to the town board in 1999 and was one of the first Democrats to be elected to public office in the town since 1905, feels she is well-known in the town, mainly because of her successful efforts to change the town's voting system.

In Goosby vs. Hempstead, a lawsuit that challenged the Town of Hempstead's at-large voting system, the United States Court of Appeals upheld the district court's ruling that the town's at-large voting system to elect members of the town board violated the Voting Rights Act. The court ruled that the town must be divided into council districts. Goosby was elected in 2000 during a special election for the first councilmatic district.

"Before we had the councilmatic districts, we didn't have anybody who was truly responsible for government. Now, we have people who are accountable. Yet, some of them still have not realized that they must be closer to the constituents," she said.

Back then, Goosby fought to right what she felt was a wrong. Now, she feels she is attempting to do the same.

When former Hempstead Supervisor Rich Guardino resigned, Kate Murray, Goosby's opponent in this November's election, was appointed to take his place. Goosby took issue that an election was never held and that Murray was appointed as opposed to being elected.

"I believe in government of the people, by the people and for the people and allow the people to elect the person who represents them, not have someone select the person," she said.

Goosby, the only African American to serve as councilwoman in town history, said she has traveled all over the Town of Hempstead and she feels that some areas of the town have been neglected.

"The Town of Hempstead has been in the control of one party since 1644. As such, one party really gets to the point where they think they own everything," she said, referring to the Republican domination of town politics. "I'm very concerned because we want to make sure the taxpayers' dollars are utilized as they should be as set up by the Constitution and that everyone has the right to the same values and the same issues. As it is now, it is run like a private club using taxpayer money."

Like fellow Democrat, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Goosby vows to break the back of machine politics she feels currently exist in the town, the politics she feels have led to neglect in some of the town's communities. "That's why my job is so hard in councilmatic district one - neglect," she said.

She pointed to some of the town's roads as an area of neglect and also feels environmental issues are important. "I want to make sure that the open spaces we have left are there," she said.

Goosby also said she believes in getting people involved in government and working with other municipalities such as Nassau County, Suffolk County and the villages to deliver services to the residents of the town and to solve some problems.

As a town councilwoman for the past four years, Goosby said she worked with other board members on such initiatives as revitalizing communities with new commercial development, housing, hotels, stores, downtown areas, road improvement projects, investigating and addressing brownfield environmental issues, establishing a committee to investigate and identify cell tower project locations, identifying and fighting to retain open spaces, opening town government to all citizens by scheduling night town board meetings as well as creating programs to partner with senior citizens, youth, community leaders and residents to address and maintain the quality of life issues.

A major concern for Goosby is long-range planning. "Any business as large as the town should have long-range planning. We need policy and procedure manuals and we need a good avenue for evaluating employees," she said.

On the subject of town finances, Goosby said she would continue to ensure that town government remains fiscally sound and pointed to her involvement in the 2001, 2002, 2003 and now 2004 budgets as the experience needed to keep the town fiscally responsible.

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray is looking to maintain her position as town supervisor this November. Murray, appointed to the position earlier this year following the resignation of Rich Guardino, served as town clerk prior to filling the supervisor's seat.

Although serving only about eight months in office, Murray said that she feels she has handled the responsibility of being supervisor well, specifically noting initiatives in the areas of the environment and affordable housing for seniors and first-time homebuyers. She mentioned the recent groundbreaking at the town's newest environmental preserve, the Lido Beach Passive Nature Area and added that in addition to the 40-acre parcel, the town is looking to seal yet another 60 acres down Lido Blvd. Murray also said that the town has been helping the environment by implementing the use of 77 Global Electric Motorcars (GEMs), which are not only environmentally friendly but also very cost effective.

"I would love to see some of these programs grow and come to fruition," Murray said, adding that she also hopes to increase the pace at which affordable housing units are being constructed. "I know we have to be very aggressive on the town level to provide these kinds of housing alternatives as the market becomes more and more critical. We've just begun the accelerated pace and I want to see that continue into the future."

Murray noted that the constant underlying challenge for a town supervisor is to keep taxes down.

"That's an everyday challenge - to provide the best municipal services at the lowest cost to our residents and taxpayers," Murray said, adding that she believes she has been successful. "I think we've done very well. We just presented our budget and for the ninth year in a row we have no general tax increase."

Murray said that the issue of taxes comes up often when she speaks with residents.

"Taxes are always uppermost on many people's minds; that's the bottom line for everybody. Long Islanders traditionally are willing to pay for the services when they feel that they are getting their dollar's worth and we've been getting very good feedback from people in general."

Murray stated that her past experiences make her the best candidate for the supervisor's position.

"My experience not only as an attorney, as a state legislator, town clerk and having eight months [as supervisor] under my belt, all those experiences lead up to me being able to provide a solid days work, in addition to my initiatives in the short period of time that I've been able to call myself supervisor," she said.

Murray said that what makes her job most enjoyable is meeting and speaking with local residents.

"A great part of my day, always has been from day one, is interacting with our residents. Whether it be going to an Eagle Court of Honor or a senior center event, or going to Camp Anchor and interacting with our wonderful children - it's really interacting with people," she said. "While it really provides a level of satisfaction for me, I also think it is very important and sends a message to the residents of the town that I'm not going to be cloistered to my office, that I care enough to be there at the milestones of their lives, to put a face to local government and to let them know that they are indeed appreciated and that I think enough of them and what they do for our communities to recognize them in person. That's clearly the most enjoyable part of my day."

A lifelong resident of Levittown, Murray is the first woman to be up for election as Hempstead Town Supervisor. She is running on the Republican, Independence and Conservative Party lines. Prior to being appointed supervisor, Murray was the first woman and the first attorney ever elected to the position of Hempstead Town Clerk. She also made history when she was the first woman to serve in the 19th State 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, she 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 State 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.