Republican Richard LaMarca, who is seeking his fourth two-year term as Oyster Bay town clerk, points to the modernization of the office and expanded online services as accomplishments he hopes to build on in another term.
Republicans account for more than 35 percent of registered voters in the town, compared with just under 31 percent who are Democrats. LaMarca, 61, won re-election in 2025 with 64 percent of the vote. He has to run again because of a state ruling that moved many county and town elections to even-numbered years.
LaMarca, a lifelong Oyster Bay resident, lives there with his wife, Justine, their 10-year-old twins and three adult children. He graduated from Oyster Bay High School, where he played running back and defensive back on the school's 1982 county co-champion football team. He later earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Villanova University.
LaMarca began his career in financial services, and eventually joined New York Life, where he served as acting head of human resources. His work took him around the world before he finished his career with the company in domestic operations.
He entered the public sector in 2012 as the town’s director of labor management. He also served as president of the Oyster Bay Civic Association and as a member of the Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
After Joseph Saladino became town supervisor in 2017, LaMarca worked with his administration on several initiatives, including efforts to increase transparency at Town Hall. Two years later, Saladino asked LaMarca to run for town clerk on the Republican ticket. He won that November, and has served in the position ever since.
“This job has fulfilled my life,” LaMarca said. “I love what I do and I love helping people, and this job lends itself to that, not only in the office but in the things I can do for local communities.”
LaMarca said that one of his greatest challenges — and accomplishments — came shortly after he took office, when the coronavirus pandemic forced the town to change how it provided services. “I was going into the office seven days a week by myself,” he recalled.
The pandemic accelerated LaMarca's push to make more clerk services available remotely. When Town Hall was unavailable for weddings, he began performing ceremonies at the bandstand and gazebo at Oyster Bay Beach.
Since then, he has overseen the digitization of vital records, including marriage licenses and death certificates. He said he is now working toward a system that would allow residents to complete licensing and permitting processes online without visiting the clerk's office.
His biggest disappointment, LaMarca said, is that it has taken six years to reach this point.
He is also working to convert a town-owned building on Spring Street into a museum where historic town documents and artifacts could be displayed for the public.
LaMarca said he expects the clerk's office's 2027 budget to come in slightly below its 2026 total of $1.752 million. Several longtime employees are expected to retire, he said, and their replacements would likely begin at lower salaries.
As he seeks another term, LaMarca said, his top priorities remain expanding access to town services, preserving town records and helping residents resolve problems they bring to his office. “The greatest thing I can get is the compliment that ‘You made my day, and thank you for getting this done for me,’” he said.
