On Nov. 3, voters in Nassau County will decide the fate of Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray (R), who is confident in her candidacy and ready to switch hats to become Nassau County’s district attorney.
“I’ve received a whole lot of support from organized groups and individuals alike,” said Murray, with endorsements such as Nassau Police Benevolent Association, the Nassau Police Detective’s Association and the Nassau County Superior Officers Association.
Although there many top issues in the county, Murray said, “Gang violence, gun violence and the heroin epidemic are the three issues that are roiling us the most and are affecting the quality of life in Nassau County.”
The Town of Hempstead recently honored local police officers, nominated for their performance and crime fighting.
“What was really disturbing is that every single incident involved a gun,” as an underlying issue to the crime which the officers were being honored for. Murray said a loaded gun was recovered in each of these separate crimes, where the original crime was for something unrelated like a traffic violation, a robbery, etc. She said this is one issue that needs to be tackled.
Heroin has been a festering issue specifically on Long Island.
“An internal task within Nassau County Police Department will be the most effective way of really putting a focus on what is going on, the resources and how we can be more effective,” said Murray.
Several weeks after Murray suggested an internal task force in addition to the existing heroin task force, the police department announced moving forward with its own plans to implement such a task force. She said education, treatment and prosecution are key elements of making changes in Long Island’s heroin issue.
Murray said as the new election cycle for town supervisor began to draw near, she became increasingly aware of the growing local epidemic on Long Island, the heroin issue. “This [heroin] is an area that needs some reform, really needs some help,” said Murray. “It was a natural segue.”
Murray said based on the increasing number of deaths, overdoses, incidents of big drug dealers coming into the county she said something has got to change.
Prior to her service with the town, Kate Murray was a New York State Assemblywoman, serving on the Codes Committee which considers all criminal legislation. Indeed, she supported Megan’s Law and the Assault Weapons Ban.
“As an assemblywoman, I worked on tough laws to keep our communities safe,” said Murray. “As a supervisor, I saw the effect of those laws on our neighborhoods; now, it’s time for me to uphold the laws as Nassau’s district attorney.”
Preceding her tenure in the assembly, Murray was an assistant attorney general in the criminal justice section of the New York State attorney general’s office. Murray served as an advocate for the Suffolk University Battered Women’s Project, representing victims of domestic violence.
“I know how to allocate resources and make decisions,” said Murray. She said all of her experience has prepared her for this exact transition.
To the critics who say Murray has not actively practiced law in many years and is not qualified to be the district attorney, she said, “Bottom line is I am not running to be the chief prosecutor, I am running to be the general in the army, the captain of the ship, something I have been doing for 13 years with an employee work force of 2,000, six times the size of the DA’s office.”
She said the DA is an administrator, the CEO of the department, and has to be a sensible and tough manager, managing resources.
“What I have to do every single day is varied, services from cradle-to-grave,” said Murray. “I’ve seen the creation of the laws, seen the effects of the laws and now I’d like to be the chief enforcer.”
If elected, Murray (Rep, Con, Ind, TRP, Ref) said she’d like to create an elder abuse bureau.
“It’ll take some special ADAs (assistant district attorneys) who would be particularly inclined to helping our older citizens,” said Murray.
“It’s overdue.” Hempstead Town serves tens of thousands of senior citizens through its programming and enrichment events.
“Being supervisor has been great; I’ve absolutely loved it,” she said. “I’m going to walk away from being supervisor with bittersweet feelings.”
