Murray Runs on Crime, Taxes and Albany Reform

State Sen. Dean Murray is seeking reelection in the 3rd Senate District, arguing that his experience as a small-business owner and legislator gives him a perspective too often missing in Albany.

Murray, running on the Republican and Conservative lines, has represented the district in the Senate since 2023 after previously serving seven years in the Assembly. His Democrat opponent, Antonio Vargas-Ayala, did not respond to an invitation to discuss his platform with the South Shore Press editorial board and little information about his campaign can be found online.

A longtime business owner, Murray started D&S Advertising in 1997 and operated publications including the Long Island Job Finder and Fugitive Finder. He said running a business shaped his view of state government.

“I could not believe how few people that are making our laws knew anything about business,” Murray said, adding that entrepreneurs often risk everything and are “the last ones to get paid.”

Public safety remains a major focus of his campaign. Murray is pushing Nick’s Law, which would increase penalties for leaving the scene of a serious accident, and Sarah’s Law, which would prevent a conviction from being erased when a defendant dies while an appeal is pending.

“This whole movement towards protecting criminals while ignoring crime victims” is among the issues that keep him seeking office, Murray said. “We have to fight back. We can’t give in.”

Murray also pointed to his work on the I-STOP prescription-monitoring system, which made prescription-drug records available in real time in an effort to curb doctor shopping and opioid abuse.

On taxes and spending, Murray remains critical of Albany and the MTA, saying taxpayers continually pay more without seeing comparable results. “We need another Tea Party,” said Murray, who helped organize early Long Island Tea Party demonstrations in 2009.