Oyster Bay Town Clerk Runs For Reelection Against Hoene
Richard LaMarca was elected Oyster Bay Town Clerk in November 2019. As Town Clerk, he prides himself on the quality of services that his office delivers for residents, providing assistance with passports, licenses, vital statistics and permits. Prior to his election as Town of Oyster Bay Clerk, LaMarca served as director of Labor-Management Relations for the Town of Oyster Bay where he was responsible for the day-to-day relations between management and the town’s unionized workforce. A graduate of Villanova University, LaMarca also earned an MBA from St. John’s University in Queens. He is married and is the father of five children.
Richard LaMarca:
Q: What initiatives do you plan on putting in place to increase efficiencies in the services you provide to residents?
A: I’m proud of the many services that my office delivers for residents, providing assistance with passports, licenses, vital statistics and permits. Within days on the job, I began cutting costs for taxpayers and making services more efficient. I placed applications and forms online for easier access by residents. I earned recognition for keeping my office fully operational throughout the COVID-19 public health crisis. I opened walkup windows at both Town Halls, allowing residents to receive services in the safety of the open air. I also had the pleasure of personally officiating close to 200 in-person, socially-distanced wedding ceremonies, including marriage vows for frontline workers concerned for their personal safety and the health benefits of their loved ones. With an increase in people travelling again, I have offered Passport Processing Weekends to provide convenience for our residents who are unable to come during weekdays. Each month, my office also offers weeknight hours at both offices in Oyster Bay and Massapequa. We now accept certain documents electronically to save residents from unnecessary trips to the office.
Q: What do you think is the most pressing issue this office needs
to address?
A: The most important job any elected official can perform is to protect your wallet from waste, fraud and abuse. I continually search for ways to save money through efficiencies. I challenge my staff to find ways to better service our residents without adding to the tax burden. I also believe it is important to streamline the application and distribution process for commuter parking permits. My office is currently reviewing options to achieve this goal. We are working toward online processing for additional permits, with the goals of speeding up the process and providing greater convenience for residents.
Q: What are some of the planks in your platform that voters should be aware of?
A: For more than 20 years, I worked at a Fortune 500 company in both domestic and international markets. As a vice president of the company, I developed a successful track record of cost-efficiency by holding employees reliable for budgets, strategic planning and financial reporting. I bring this same approach to government, where I protect taxpayers by holding my department accountable for your tax dollars. I also believe it’s important for government to partner with local organizations to move our community forward. My passion for community service led me from my career in financial services to this one in government. I currently serve as president of the Civic Association, a director on the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce Board, Youth and Family Counseling Agency, a member of the Main Street Association Advisory Board, a representative on the Nassau County Police Commissioner’s Community Council and I am an active participant in the Historical Society, Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA), Railroad Museum, Athletic Booster Club, Mike Bruschini Memorial Scholarship Committee, Italian American Citizen’s Club, Italian American Mutual Aid Society and coach youth athletics.
Hoene Runs Against Oyster Bay Incumbent LaMarca For Town Clerk Seat
(Photo courtesy of Carla Hoene)
Carla Hoene is an engaged and experienced community advocate who believes in the power of public service. She is currently serving her second term on the Hicksville Board of Education and has held active leadership roles within the Hicksville community.
During her tenure on the board, Hoene has been committed to the equitable education, mental health and wellness of all students and to strengthening and streamlining ‘school to community’ partnerships. Through her role as co-chairperson on the Policy Committee and her work on the Communications Committee, she has developed a deep knowledge of the needs of the community and how to build and implement change and structure with organizations. She believes it is also important to empower individuals to seek their own civic and leadership opportunities.
She has demonstrated fiscal responsibility by helping to develop and pass the district’s budget in each year of her two terms on the board. Hoene has a self-described keen understanding of the coordination and planning it takes to allocate resources productively to the benefit of the residents. She prides herself on knowing firsthand the importance of building relationships and promoting cooperation at all levels of an organization.
According to Hoene, this experience makes her uniquely qualified to implement a coordinated strategy to modernize the Town Clerk’s office and increase the responsiveness to residents’ needs. She believes it is essential to immediately evaluate the deficiencies in existing systems and to update and modernize the processes, digitize records and make services more accessible and less stressful for residents to navigate.
Hoene currently works as a director in the assisted living field, where she takes pride in caring for and serving the elder population with compassion and commitment. In her personal time, she is an avid reader, has a passion for history and travel and revels in time spent with friends and family.
Carla Hoene:
Q: What initiatives do you plan on putting in place to increase efficiencies in the services you provide to residents?
A: Properly digitizing the town records would allow us to more efficiently utilize our work force and taxes in a fiscally responsible manner and decrease our dependence upon paper. This digitization of records would also lead to better organization of backup materials supplied at Town of Oyster Bay meetings.
Q: What do you think is the most pressing issue this office needs to address?
A: I believe modernizing the office to be as accessible as possible to our hard-working, time-pressed residents, in a fiscally responsible manner, is the most pressing issue for the clerk’s office.
Q: What are some of the planks in your platform that voters should be aware of?
A: As Town of Oyster Bay Clerk, I would bring the experience of my two terms as a public servant on the board of education, where I took an active part in responsibly allocating taxpayer funds during the annual budget process. I would increase community access to Town Records and expedite FOIL request response time, while ensuring that it is done with utmost transparency.
