Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy Bids Farewell

Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy, who has served the town since 1998, is saying goodbye as her 8th term comes to an end on Dec. 31, 2013. Earlier this year, Murphy announced she would not seek re-election as supervisor. 

Instead, she said she wanted to explore new responsibilities and unsuccessfully ran for Westchester County Clerk in November. Prior to being elected Supervisor 15 years ago, Mary Beth practiced law in Mt. Kisco and New York City.

Patch asked Murphy to reflect on the last 15 years as Somers Supervisor. Here is what she said: 

You got me thinking about the Town and the accomplishments we’ve made over the last 15 years. They range in magnitude from very large, like building a 7-mile water transmission main to bring clean drinking water to Shenorock a neighborhood which had been in violation of the Federal clean water act for nearly 30 years; to very individual – by providing transportation to Seniors  to get to doctor’s appointments and everything in between.  

Things that effect our financial stability like Best Plumbing relocating to Somers and keeping Pepsi here; and many things that effect our quality of life like up zoning 7000 acres of land in town to reduce density and preserve our rural character; purchasing the Angle Fly Preserve, the largest land purchase for preservation ever in Westchester; building new ball fields in Van Tassel park for increased recreational opportunity and partnering with neighboring communities to obtain mandate relief from State regulations.  

I’ve always tried to the focus on the things we value most in Somers whether it was obtaining status on the National Historic Register for the Elephant Hotel or revising the regulations for zoning and building in the Business Historic District. Somers natural beauty is a treasure worth preserving so many of the zoning and environmental actions I’ve taken have been with that in mind. 

Advancements in health and safety have also been an important part of my tenure. We now have an eight town shared advanced life support paramedic service which has demonstrably saved lives and a robust emergency preparedness program for storms and the like. I instituted a dialogue with Lincoln Hall and created an Emergency Preparedness Committee for addressing shelter and other issues that arise during an emergency. I’ve obtained millions of dollars for Somers from State, Federal and County sources and that revenue has helped to keep our real property taxes low.

As Supervisor, it’s helpful to educate oneself thoroughly on every issue and keep an open mind to other ideas and opinions that could help make a better decision for our community.

Service in government, particularly at the local level is very rewarding. The process of running for election is itself humbling and there is always a need and opportunity to build on what has been done and invest in new ideas and opportunities to improve the quality of life for the community. 

Somers has left me both personally and professionally rewarded from my years as Supervisor and I will always have fond memories of the employees and volunteers that make our Town run. It is my sincere hope that my tenure as Supervisor has played some role in keeping Somers the wonderful town that it is.