Nassau County’s three law enforcement unions — its Police Benevolent Association, Police Detective’s Association and Superior Officers Association — endorsed Republican Kate Murray on Monday in her campaign for district attorney.
During a news conference outside the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola, PBA President James Carver said Murray’s endorsement over Democrats Madeline Singas and Michael Scotto “was not a difficult choice by any means,” adding the Hempstead town supervisor “brings direction to this job” and that she “knows what the people of Nassau County want.”
“When we look at Kate’s history as an assemblywoman, prior to that working for the U.S. Attorney General’s office to now running the Town of Hempstead, the largest township in the United States, we’d take the experience of all three of those jobs and think she’s going to make a great district attorney,” he said.
Nassau’s three police unions represent more than 2,200 officers and detectives, as well as 5,000 retirees.
Murray said the endorsement “underscores the importance of having a district attorney who can work collaboratively with law enforcement,” adding that her father’s career in the Federal Bureau of Investigation inspired her to seek the office.
“An effective working relationship between the police and the district attorney results in safer streets, successful investigations and competent prosecution of criminals,” Murray said.
Singas, the former top assistant district attorney to current U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City), has held the acting district attorney role since January, and will square off against Scotto, a former bureau chief in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, in a Democratic primary in September for the party’s nomination.
Carver said Murray told him during their endorsement interview that her primary goal as district attorney would be to eliminate heroin trafficking within the county by seeking to increase the number of detectives and officers in the police department’s narcotics bureau.
“We’re losing our kids,” he said. “We cannot allow that to happen.”
Citing a 107 percent increase in heroin-related deaths in Nassau since January, Murray said she would target opiate addiction in three ways: in education initiatives with school districts, in seeking treatment options for non-violent addicts and aggressively prosecuting drug dealers.
“We have real problems that are serious, that threaten our families and our local quality of life,” she said.
Murray said she would also look to strengthen laws against registered sex offenders, getting illegal guns off the street and establishing an elder crimes bureau to protect senior citizens.
“We have a rapidly aging population, and as supervisor we take care of 190,000 seniors each year. I talk to senior citizens each and every day. We know their concerns and what’s on their minds,” she said. “Security is a big issue.”
In a news release Monday, the Singas campaign criticized Murray for having never been a prosecutor, defense attorney or law enforcement officer.
“In short, she has absolutely no law enforcement qualifications and is dangerously unqualified to serve as Nassau District Attorney,” Singas campaign spokesman Isaac Goldberg said.
Scotto in a statement said Murray’s endorsement “tells you all you need to know about Madeline Singas’ fitness for the office of district attorney when the three groups whose members dealt with Acting DA Singas on a daily basis for almost ten years have decided not to endorse her.”
“I understand why they decided to endorse Kate Murray, even though she has zero experience,” he added. “Newsday has called me a long shot, but I plan on being on the ballot in November and giving the citizens of Nassau a real choice for D.A.”
