Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Viviana Russell said her experience working in local government and familiarity with town departments make her the ideal candidate to serve as town clerk.
We think being the ideal candidate may be a stretch but she is certainly strong enough for us to give her our strong endorsement.
Russell, a Democrat living in Westbury, is the first Black person elected to the Town Board and has represented the 1st District since her initial election in 2009.
She has been re-elected twice since in a district that encompasses Westbury, New Cassel, Carle Place and Old Westbury.
Prior to becoming councilwoman, Russell gained governmental experience working at the Town of North Hempstead’s 311 Call Center from its inception and serving residents throughout the town and as a constituent liaison for the 13th Assembly District.
Russell, who is serving her third term as town councilwoman for the 1st District, recounted her public service from when she was working for the nonprofit National Association of Mothers’ Centers, currently known as Mom-mentum. Russell said she believed it was important to highlight this because it provided experience in advocacy.
“As a result of this work, we were instrumental in pushing for things such as the Fair Pay Act, Family Leave Act,” Russell said. “Which gave many residents the opportunity to be able to take care of their families.”
Russell also has a firm grasp on the town clerk job and how it could be improved.
She said she would like to bring more services online, making sure that people that are not able to get out can go online and access applications and forms.
Russell is opposed by Republican Ragini Srivastava, a small-business owner in the retail food industry, who ran last year in the state Assembly election for District 16.
Srivastava has spoken passionately about accountability in government and supporting small businesses – something very much needed at all levels of government.
But she had far less of a grasp on town government and the role of the town clerk than Russell.
We would like to see Srivastava find a role to support small businesses, but town clerk is not that job.
We strongly endorse Viviana Russell for town clerk of North Hempstead.
