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Somers Supervisor, Mary Beth Murphy, has been in office since 1998. At the same time, she has been active locally in the Girl Scouts, the Somers Youth Sports Organization, the Parent Teachers Association, the Somers Historical Society, Friends of the Library, Relay for Life and the Somers Lions Club.
She was elected Chairwoman of the East of Hudson Watershed Coalition and is currently on the Board of Directors of Opengate, Inc.
For the past five years she has been co-leader of the Somers High School Leos Club, a youth branch of the Lions Club.
Murphy graduated cum laude from Fordham University School of Law and holds a BS in Geology from Syracuse University. Before taking on the role of supervisor, she practiced law in Mt. Kisco and New York City.
Murphy and her husband, Ken, have lived in Somers since 1989. They have three children.
1. Why are you running for re-election as Supervisor?
I remain very enthusiastic about my job and its responsibilities and continue to have new ideas about ways to make Somers even better. The Town needs a leader that can collaborate with neighboring municipalities and officials at all levels of government. I have developed an excellent rapport with colleagues of all political persuasions.
2. Why should Republicans vote for you in the primary and how are you different from your competition?
I believe that I have the experience, temperament and judgement to perform the job well and that my opponent lacks those qualities. Governance involves the ability to coalesce different ideas, listen to other people and incorporate their ideas for a better result. My opponent has a very confrontational approach to things and often seems a contrarian. I always look for how to get something done rather than why it can't be done and that is why I have been successful with some very important projects in Somers.
3. What is the biggest issue or problem in Somers right now and what would you do about it?
Somers like all towns that rely on real property tax for their primary source of revenue is very focused on the bottom line. We need to continue to deliver quality services to our residents and keep taxes down. This can be accomplished with slow controlled growth of the right kind that doesn't overwhelm town safety, school and other resources. We have and continue to implement zoning changes to insure that that happens. In addition we need to regionalize services where appropriate and coordinate with other levels of government where there is overlap in services to deliver them more effectively. Public/ private partnerships can also help deliver needed services in a cost effective way.
4. What has been your greatest accomplishment as Supervisor?
There are several things that make me very proud including the rezoning of over half the acreage in the Town to reduce density; the building of a water transmission main and creation of a water district to bring clean, plentiful water to western Somers; the largest acquisition of open space in Westchester County by coordinating 4 levels of government to chip in to buy it and the subsequent management of the Angle fly Preserve; the creation of the East of Hudson Watershed Coalition to regionalize compliance with unfunded storm water mandates forced upon Somers and other towns and to obtain NYC money to pay for the mandates which will keep NYC's water clean.
5. What would you like to see in Somers that is not currently part of the community?
Somers is always looking for additional recreational opportunities.
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