Maureen C. O'Connell (born May 23, 1950) is the

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Isla ...

, an adjunct faculty member of the

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher edu ...

School of Nursing, and a member of the School of Nursing Advisory Boards of

Nassau Community College Nassau Community College (NCC) is a public community college in Uniondale, New York, using the Garden City, New York ZIP Code. It was founded in 1959 and is part of the State University of New York. History Nassau Community College was crea ...

Molloy College Molloy University is a private Roman Catholic university in Rockville Centre, New York. It provides more than 50 academic undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs for over 5,000 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students. His ...

, and State University of New York at Farmingdale.

Education

O'Connell attended Mineola High School. A

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

, she is a graduate of the

Flushing Hospital Flushing Hospital Medical Center (also known as Flushing Hospital) is one of the oldest hospitals in New York City. It survived a 1999 bankruptcy and subsequently affiliated first with the New York Presbyterian Hospital and then with the MediSys ...

and Medical Center School of Nursing and holds a B.S. in Health Care Administration from St. Joseph's College. O'Connell is also an attorney, with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...

Political career

O'Connell served as a

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

and as

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected depu ...

of the Village of East Williston from 1991 through 1998. Prior to her taking office as County Clerk on January 1, 2006, O'Connell served as the first woman to be sent by the 17th District to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

, where she served as ranking member of the Assembly's Health Committee and on the Judiciary, Insurance and Ethics Committees. She was also a member of the Sexual Assault and Violence Education (S.A.V.E.) taskforce on

sex crimes Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...

and

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often c ...

and

children A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

. She serves on the board of directors of the

Alumni Association and the Maternity & Early Childhood Foundation. In January 2007, O'Connell was selected as the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, and

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

candidate for the open 7th State Senatorial District in a special election, called by Governor

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008. Spitzer was born in New York City, attended P ...

to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Senator Michael A.L. Balboni. Her opponent was Democrat Craig Johnson, a County Legislator who was strongly endorsed by former governor Eliot Spitzer. The polls closed February 6, 2007 with Johnson defeating O'Connell.

Personal life

O'Connell lives in East Williston with her husband Don. They have one son.

New York State election results

* November 1998

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, NYS Assembly, 17th AD : * November 2000

, NYS Assembly, 17th AD : * November 2002

, NYS Assembly, 17th AD : * November 2004

, NYS Assembly, 17th AD : * February 2007

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, NYS Senate, 7th SD :

References

External links

Office of the Nassau County Clerk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, Maureen 1950 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American nurses American women nurses Farmingdale State College Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly People from East Williston, New York St. Joseph's College (New York) alumni St. John's University School of Law alumni Women state legislators in New York (state)