By Scott Brinton
Like many folks, State Assemblywoman Kathleen Murray (R-Levittown) stayed up until 2:30 A.M. watching the returns pour in on election night, Nov. 7. She, though, had a greater stake in the election than most people.
Her assembly seat was on the line the year after Democrats had scored big victories throughout Nassau. She had no need to worry, however. Voters returned her to the 19th-District seat with almost 54 percent of ballots cast. She walked away from the election with 24,035 votes to the 20,563 of her main opponent, Steven November (D-Merrick). John Hagan (L-Merrick) received only 272 ballots in the race.
Ms. Murray celebrated her victory the same way she did after winning two years ago: by standing at 6:15 A.M. outside a train station, this time the Bellmore depot, and distributing as much free coffee to her constituents as possible. This year, she handed out $275 worth.
"It's a bit of a tradition in the making," said Ms. Murray. "People are surprised to find a public servant there the day after the vote."
The assemblywoman admitted with a laugh, though: "After that, I took it easy for the rest of the day."
Ms. Murray said that, unlike last year, Republicans voted for Republicans in 2000. Last year's election saw GOP voters cast their ballots for Democrats in droves to express their dissatisfaction with the way Republican elected leaders had handled the county's finances. Under GOP leadership, Nassau had fallen into a $325 million budget hole at the time.
"Republicans elected Democrats last year. Republicans voted for Democrats," said Ms. Murray. "The biggest story of this election was that the Republicans came back to the polls. Looking at the candidates this year, the Republicans realized that the town and state candidates had excellent legislative records and rewarded us with another opportunity to serve."
Mr. November said, "I wish Ms. Murray the best. I wish her success. And I hope and expect that she will rise to the level of voters' expectations."
In her next term, Ms. Murray hopes to see the state's EPIC (Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage) plan extended to include residents with disabilities. Currently, the program provides medication insurance for older-adult couples with annual incomes of less than $50,000 and older-adult singles with incomes of less than $35,000.
The assemblywoman also said she will remain as chairwoman of the Assembly's Minority Task Force on Education Standards, which is studying the ongoing effects of the State Education Department's recently upgraded graduation requirements.
"We will continue to look at specific student groups -- for example, special-education students, vocational-education students, and students with English as a second language -- to monitor them and see how they fare with the new standards," she said.
Safety nets to aid students who are struggling with the requirements, such as a 55 passing grade for Regents exams, are scheduled to end in the coming years, according to the assemblywoman. "We will be focused on student-achievement levels as particular safety nets sunset," she said.
Ms. Murray also said that she will lobby federal officials, such as Third-District Congressman Peter King (R-Seaford), to ban the MTBE gasoline additive, which has found its way into the environment throughout New York. Last year, the state banned MTBE; however, the act was purely symbolic. Only the federal government can truly ban MTBE, because the Environmental Protection Agency mandated that fuel suppliers add it to gasoline.
The assemblywoman, the ranking Republican on the Assembly's Housing Committee, also hopes to work with Democrats to provide mortgage assistance for low- and middle-income families.
Finally, she wants to develop beautification projects in her district for major thoroughfares such as Sunrise Highway. She recently helped secure $10 million in state monies to upgrade a 3.5-mile stretch of Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown.
Mr. November said, "I challenge [Ms. Murray] to take a lead in environmental stewardship, including a strengthening of wetlands protections and regulations, and mandatory environmental review for any construction in the marshes and estuaries of our district."
He added, "I want to see her out in front on issues that matter to our community, including school infrastructure ... I would like to see her take a much more visible role in our community. When I say our community, I just don't mean Levittown."
Mr. November, a lawyer, said he will remain "active" in the Merrick area. "My most important goal is ... to organize local, grass-roots organizations like the civic and homeowners associations, and to continue to act as a liaison between these associations." He now belongs to the Central Merrick and North Bellmore Homeowners Associations and plans to join the recently resurrected Old Lindenmere group.
