Dems Announce Hempstead Town Candidate Slate

Story by Matthew Hogan

The Town of Hempstead Democratic Committee (TOHDC) Tuesday nominated its candidates for Hempstead Town Supervisor, Hempstead Town Clerk, and Hempstead Town Council.

The Democrats have tapped Franklin Square resident Felix Procacci to run against long-time Town Supervisor Kate Murray. 

Procacci, who is registered as a Republican, has been critical of Murray and her administration for years and has spoken out at numerous town, often citing transparency -- or lack thereof -- as their biggest problem.

Procacci said that, if elected, he would make government more accountable to the people. 

“I believe all information about Town government should be made available to the public and Kate Murray does not want to do that,” Procacci told Patch.
Among his proposals are:

• Showing town hall meetings online
• Requiring town government to provide residents with the cost of settled employee contracts
• Posting employee contracts online
• Posting all budget data online in a format that allows for searching and sorting
• Posting all town board member votes online

Procacci also said that he would call on New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to perform a comprehensive audit of the town, claiming that his own investigation came across budgeted items in which it was not clear how the money was being spent.

Levittown resident and lawyer Jasmine Garcia-Vieux was called on by Democrats as the candidate for Hempstead Town Clerk, a position that has been in question since current town clerk Mark Bonilla was arrested in September. 

The Town of Hempstead Republican Committee announced last week that Bonilla would be replaced on its ticket by Nasrin Ahmad.

Challenging Councilman Gary Hudes for his seat will be East Meadow resident Diane Madden, who was one of three town residents banned by the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter in 2010 after speaking out about alleged abuses at the shelter.

Madden was awarded $36,456 in January 2013 after a settlement with the town.

"In view of the findings from the NYS Comptrollers Audit regarding the animal shelter, it is my suspicion that taxpayer money and operations at other departments throughout TOH are equally and grossly mismanaged,” Madden said.

Joining Procacci, Garcia-Vieux and Madden will be East Rockaway’s Patrick "Paddy" Gillespie, who has been nominated to run against Town Councilman Anthony Santino for his position. 

According to a release, Gillespie, a college student seeking his master’s degree, “is running to represent the young adults who have few opportunities offered to them because of the small number of jobs and unreasonably priced apartments in the Town of Hempstead.”