Former Nassau D.A. Kathleen Rice endorses Madeline Singas

Noah Manskar

Former Nassau County District Attorney and current U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) endorsed Democrat Madeline Singas, the acting DA and Rice’s former second-in-command, Monday morning in her bid for the office.

Appearing at Eisenhower Park with local anti-drunk driving activists, Rice said Singas’ time under her has made her better equipped than her Republican opponent, Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray, to take on the county’s major issues.

“No one knows what skills it takes to be an effective DA more than I do, and Madeline has them in spades,” she said.

Rice said Singas was a great help to her efforts to more effectively prosecute and punish drunk drivers in the county, the hallmark of her nine-year administration.

Nassau and Suffolk counties account for 40 percent of the state’s drunken driving crimes, said Cheryl Haiken, an activist with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Lynn Scarpati, another anti-DWI activist, worked with Rice’s office after a drunken driver killed her son in an accident in 2009.

Singas has demonstrated both a knowledge of the problems with existing drunken driving laws and a commitment to victims, she said.

“Madeline Singas goes to sleep at night thinking about the people that the office represents, and she wakes up thinking about them in the morning,” Scarpati said.

Singas touted her experience at “the highest levels” of the DA’s office, both under Rice and as acting DA, a post she has held since January.

If elected, she said, she would “continue (Rice’s) legacy” by pursuing funding for extra DWI patrols on holiday weekends and tougher sentences for drunken drivers.

“We cannot afford to lose one inch of traction on our fight against drunk driving, not one inch, and I swear to you that I won’t,” Singas said.

Murray would continue school and community education programs and work with activists to take on drunken driving, said Bill Corbett, Jr., her campaign manager.

“DWI and DUI are serious problems in Nassau County, and when Kate is district attorney she will prosecute these crimes to the fullest extent of the law,” Corbett said.

This round of endorsements, the third in a week for Singas, comes after Murray showed a six-point advantage over her in a Newsday/News 12/Siena College poll released yesterday, leading the race 48 percent to 42 percent.

The poll, conducted from Sept. 23-29, also showed Singas has a disadvantage when it comes to name recognition — 53 percent of respondents said they had not heard of her, while 21 percent said they had not heard of Murray.

In a statement, Singas said Rice’s endorsement is “extremely important” to winning the race.

“I’m thrilled to be able to share her (Rice’s) support with the voters,” she said.

Murray said she is “looking forward to a solid victory” in the election, emphasizing her focus on combatting the county’s heroin problem.

“I am gratified for the support that  Nassau’s voters have shown me, as well as the overwhelming backing I’ve received from Nassau’s law enforcement community,” she said.

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