Kate Murray (born October 9, 1962) is an American politician and attorney, and the former
Supervisor of the
Town of Hempstead, New York
The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, on t ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
Education and early career
Murray, a resident of
Levittown
Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and their ...
, graduated from
Boston College and
Suffolk University Law School.
Murray served as advocate for Suffolk University Battered Women's Advocacy Project where she represented the victims of
domestic violence. She has worked as an Assistant
Attorney General in the
Criminal Justice
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
Section handling prisoner litigation.
Political career
A
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, Kate Murray became the first woman and first Levittowner elected to the
New York State Assembly from the 19th Assembly District on February 3, 1998. She represented the district until 2001.
Murray then served as
Clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
for the Town of Hempstead. She was appointed Supervisor by the Hempstead Town Board in 2003, after being tapped by
Nassau County Republican Chairman
Joseph Mondello
Joseph Nestor Mondello (February 13, 1938 – August 1, 2022) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as Chairman of the New York Republi ...
when Supervisor Richard V. Guardino Jr. resigned. She won election to the position of Supervisor in the fall of 2003 and was re-elected in 2005 with over 60% of the vote. She is a close ally of Mondello, who also held the post of Republican Party State Chairman during the 2000s. Although the county GOP organization's strength has declined precipitously from what it had been in past decades—as demonstrated by its loss of control in the neighboring
Town of North Hempstead
North Hempstead is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the 2020 census.
History
The area was first settled by Europeans around 1643 and became part of the town of Hem ...
, under Democratic administration from 1989 onward, as well as the county government itself between 2002 and 2009—the Town of Hempstead remains a GOP stronghold.
Her governance was marked by a three-step downgrade of Hempstead's credit rating in Murray's final year as supervisor by
Standard & Poor's, which cited the drawing down of reserves and the settlement in a complex tuition payment for the Fashion Institute of Technology. That followed a downgrade a year earlier by S&P, which means Murray's governance led to four downgrades in her final two years on the job.
In May 2015, Murray announced her candidacy for
Nassau County District Attorney. She lost to Madeline Singas.
Kate Murray is credited with losing the election due to the failure of
The Lighthouse Project, which she opposed and downsized, and which would have created a large new development at the site of the
Nassau Coliseum that also would have served as a newly renovated home for the
New York Islanders.
After leaving her town office and following her defeat for the DA's position, she took a job with Nassau County Community College.
In early 2019, Murray announced that she was going to attempt a return to public office by running for Town Clerk. She previously held the office. She also apparently believes that Islander fans have gotten past her role in the collapse of the Lighthouse project and will not cast their votes on that basis.
References
External links
Town of Hempstead - Kate Murray profile"TOH Supervisor Murray Kicks Off Campaign for Re-election"''Floral Park Dispatch''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Kate
Living people
People from Levittown, New York
Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly
Town supervisors in New York (state)
Women state legislators in New York (state)
1962 births
21st-century American women