Parker, Murphy Face Off in Debate Wednesday

Westchester County Legislator candidates Catherine Parker and Tom Murphy will share their plans for governing the county in a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters on Wednesday, July 31.

The two candidates are vying for the seat being vacated by Democratic legislator Judy Myers, who is not seeking re-election. District 7 covers the city of Rye, Mamaroneck, Larchmont, portions of Harrison and New Rochelle. Myers announced her resignation from the county legislature after serving four terms and her support for Parker at a press conference in May. 

Parker is currently a Rye city council woman and Murphy is a former Mamaroneck Trustee. Both candidates gathered the required amount of signatures on election petitions to face each other in a Democratic primary to be held on Sept. 10. The winner will appear on the Democratic line on the ballots for the general election in November. The Republican Candidate is John Verni, of New Rochelle.

Parker is currently serving her second term on the Rye City Council; she was first elected in 2007.  The County Legislator hopeful owns Parkers in downtown Rye, a travel store, and is the former president of the Rye Chamber of Commerce.

Murphy was elected to the Mamaroneck Board of Trustees in 2003 and served six years before stepping down for personal reasons. He was a member of the Washingtonville Housing Alliance, where he advocated for affordable housing.

The competition has already heated up. Two weeks ago Murphy filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections that Parker had filed a financial disclosure report with New York State listing contributions that exceed the legal limits, a claim Parker said was entirely false and designed to distract voters from the issues.

Murphy asked the New York State Board of Elections to investigate contributions that he says exceed the filing limits for the primary, which is $2,833 per contributor, and called on Parker to return any contributions that exceed the limit. Parker had one contribution filed over that limit, a $5,000 contribution from her mother, according to LoHud.com. Family members can contribute up to $13,004, though, a Board of Elections spokesperson told LoHud.

At this time, Parker has raised about $26,784 while Murphy raised $14,335, according to financial disclosure forms. 

The League of Women Voters will moderate the debate, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the courtroom in the Mamaroneck Town Center, at 740 West Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck. 

The debate is open to the public. LMC-TV will be broadcasting the event and will also re-air it in the run-up to the primary.