Kristen McElroy Speaks Out

Kate Murray's Absence From The Community Speaks Volumes

Where is Kristen?

Perhaps the most asked question of the heretofore phantom campaign of Kristen McElroy, Democratic challenger for Town of Hempstead Supervisor.

Well, it seems that Kristen was confined to bed with a difficult pregnancy, kept from the campaign trail by the most important thing in her life -- family.

Were there no surrogates to be had, making appearances around town on Kristen's behalf? No campaign staff or volunteers to post lawn signs, make phone calls, send out e-mails, create a blog, or even set up a website?

Questions still unanswered, but, hey, this isn't the first time The Community Alliance had to wake those in repose, on either side of the aisle. We'll give Kristen a pass for her lax campaign faux pas. For the moment.

She's out there now, talking, greeting, telling voters it is time for a change, not more of the same.

Of course, Kristen's absence from the scene since launching her campaign begs a more compelling question, one that deserves an answer before election day -- Where has Kate "Murraygram" Murray been these past six years?

Where was Kate, when community forums, from Elmont to Wantagh, called for revitalization of "Main Street"? Nowhere to be seen, save under the dim light of the occasional Victorian-style street lamp.

Where was Kate, when the clamor called for "smart growth" in the downtown business districts? Back at Town Hall, doing anything and everything possible to block the redevelopment of America's oldest suburb.

Where was Kate, when a solid majority of residents said "YES" to the Lighthouse Project, core to the rebirth of Nassau's hub, creating jobs, housing, recreation space, economic growth and a new suburbia for the 21st Century? In her office, ordering in from the only Coliseum she ever cared about -- the Coliseum Deli -- emphatically saying "NO" long before she sheepishly said "MAYBE," and plotting a torturous course that would, if not derail the project, then, certainly, create sufficient roadblocks to make sure that no shovel was ever put to pay dirt.

Where was Kate in Elmont, in West Hempstead, in Uniondale, in Baldwin, in every unincorporated area of America's largest township, where the best she could do was to declare communities "blighted," then plod away, leaving our town's good citizens to fend for themselves amidst the brownfields, the crumbling roadbeds, the neglected downtowns? Like an absentee slumlord, Kate was in hiding, spewing forth the propaganda from the Town Hall printing presses, misinforming, misleading, misspeaking, all the while spending the taxpayers' money, not on initiatives that would improve quality of life for all Town residents, rather, on incessant and innocuous mailings, where Kate could conceal herself behind that insidious, disingenuous smile.

Where was Kate -- no, really, where -- when she so pompously declared herself to be "trusted on Main Street?" Back in Levittown, on her own street, where her former Building Commissioner was constructing a McMansion, right under Kate's nose, without permits or approval of the very department he was responsible for.

Where was Kate, when the people of this great Town needed leadership, vision, forward-thinking, and a mindset that would take Hempstead Town well into this 21st Century? Back in the 1950s, short-sighted, joined at the eyeball with the Mondello myopia, giving her all, not for the people she'd been appointed, then elected, to serve, but for goats, clams, and feral cats.

And then there's Kate's commitment to family.

Kristen, Kate has you beat on that score.

You may have heeded the advice of your physician, with complete bed rest to protect the life of your unborn child. But Kate took the cause of family just a few steps further -- putting every Murray, from her father to her brother, on the Town's payroll.

So, where was Kate when it came to "family values?" Counting the cash, of course, that patronage and nepotism brought into the house that Murray bilked, all on the taxpayers' (that's you, friends) dime!

Indeed, Kate will tell you about the Town's "A" Bond rating (easy when you fail to lay out money for what the people need, and you borrow, ala Tom Gulotta, so you can claim a smoke-and-mirrors tax freeze).

On making the grade as Hempstead Town Supervisor, however, give Kate an "F" for planning; an "F" for zoning; an "F" for vision; an "F" for accomplishment; and an "F" for just showing up.

As for Kristen McElroy, well, give her an "A" for making the effort, getting out there and taking on Kate & Kompany. More than this, give Kristen McElroy a chance to take Hempstead Town in a new direction, charting a course away from the blight, the neglect, the decline of more than 100 years of one party rule, and toward than bright, new suburbia we all talk about and dream of, but never seem able to get to.

The time has come to take back our town! On Tuesday, November 3, Vote for Kristen McElroy, and send Kate Murray back to Levittown!
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Fighting Words From Kristen McElroy
By Chris Botta, My Point Blank

Kristen McElroy, the Democratic candidate for Town of Hempstead Supervisor, is pregnant, peeved and pro-Lighthouse Project.

After her introduction in late May as Kate Murray’s opponent, McElroy disappeared for four months. She explained her absence by revealing her pregnancy and doctor-prescribed bed rest. McElroy says everything is okay now and she is medically cleared for campaigning. (My choice of words). As for my perception of her sudden, maybe-too-late-in-the-game emergence, McElroy said campaigns at this level are typically a one-month sprint to election day.

When we spoke by phone on Friday afternoon, the Garden City resident was returning from a meeting with the Newsday editorial board in which both McElroy and Murray made their pitch for the newspaper’s endorsement. She came out of the meeting with little respect for her political opponent.

“The Supervisor acted like a disgusting politician,” McElroy said. “She pulled the same stuff on the Lighthouse Project that she’s been doing all year. Kate Murray has been a roadblock. She says her actions on the Lighthouse are not politically-motivated, but everyone knows they are.

“Every agency that has approved their piece of the project, like the Department of Transportation, she does not accept. She continues to say the ball is in Charles Wang’s court, yet everyone knows this is in Kate Murray’s hands. This project is essential to the entire county - the jobs, the tax base - and Kate Murray continues to stall.”

The Labor Council gave Murray their endorsement months ago, before the Lighthouse hearings that led to no progress and infuriated union leadership. McElroy said she “screened” with the trades in July but wants another meeting. McElroy also had an informational session with the Lighthouse Development Corp. two months ago and would like to schedule a meeting with Charles Wang and Scott Rechler in the next two weeks.

Time is running out. I believe McElroy is fighting a monumental uphill battle and told her so. When I asked her if she genuinely feels she has a chance to defeat Murray in the election next month, McElroy said, “Absolutely. I have every intention of becoming the next Supervisor of the Town of Hempstead. And when I do, the political games around the Lighthouse will end and the project will be approved.”
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So what'll it be, folks? Back to the future, tumbleweeds rolling across a sprawling asphalt wasteland, with your host, Kate "The Merciless" Murray, or straight on to tomorrow, a new beginning for America's first suburb, guided by Kristen McElroy?

The Community Alliance reaffirms its endorsement of Kristen McElroy for Town of Hempstead Supervisor!