Tom Suozzi

Strengths could be weaknesses in the contest for D.A.

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The race for Nassau County district attorney is one of the most important contests in this election cycle. Vying for the top prosecutor’s job are two talented women whose greatest strengths could prove to be their greatest weaknesses.

Kate Murray is a smart, likable and very popular politician who has served as Town of Hempstead supervisor for over 12 years. She is unanimously backed by one of the state’s, if not the country’s, most effective political organizations. Her approval rating as supervisor is high, she’s an experienced campaigner, and she can tap into the deep coffers of the town’s and county’s GOP fundraising operations.

Not to be overlooked is the fact that half of the county’s voters — those in the Town of Hempstead — are all too familiar with town newsletters and local press releases filled with photos of Murray snuggling and smiling with dogs and children. She is popular, and she and her team have worked hard to build that popularity.

Madeline Singas is also very smart. She has toiled away relatively anonymously for decades as a prosecutor, earning high praise as honest, hardworking, tough but fair and dedicated to justice. She was selected as acting district attorney because of her colleagues’ near-universal respect for her ability as a prosecutor, a professional, and someone dedicated to fighting crime and rooting out abuse of the public trust.

Those are the candidates’ strengths — and therein lies their weaknesses.

Singas has been a prosecutor for more than 20 years, but she’s a complete newcomer to politics. Despite serving as acting D.A. since the beginning of the year, she isn’t that well known, and her face — and the details of her successful prosecutions and new initiatives — should be in the paper much more often than they are. Her strength and experience as a prosecutor is unquestioned, but her lack of skill and experience as a politician may cost her the race.

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