Mulhern-Larsen: Involved
A conversation with Lisa Mulhern-Larsen immediately yields one conclusion: She is unabashedly proud of the accomplishments of her children, all six of them, who are between the ages of 17 and 23. Four are in college all over the country, and last winter, she made it to each of those college campuses for a visit. She can relate a story about her family to lots of topics you could bring up, including her current endeavor — running for a seat on the East Hampton Town Board.
“My husband, family, and friends all thought that I would do a good job. I had a lot of support and that’s what helped me make the decision to give it a try,” said Ms. Mulhern-Larsen, who initially declined the East Hampton Town Republican Committee’s invitation to screen for candidacy, but accepted when they approached her a second time. She also won an Independence Party primary and will appear on that line on the ballot, as well.
She is concerned for her children, who may decide to come back after college to live in the community where they were raised, but would really have no place to establish new roots here, so affordable housing is at the top of her list of issues. She said she worries about things like drug use in East Hampton, mental health care for young people, and fair, practical policies for those who live and work in the community.
“They’re common-sense kinds of things,” she said in an interview Monday. “I think it’s taking too long so far, in my opinion, to get enough places for young working families or singles to live. Even people with average incomes struggle to live out here. I’m also passionate about the town employees. I feel that they’re not given fair wages and I’d like to see their salaries increase. They’re the backbone of our community.”
She thinks the town’s proposed rental registry legislation still needs work.
She is a licensed real estate broker with Brown Harris Stevens in Amagansett and is the founder and president of Protec Services Inc., a security business. She grew up in Montauk, where her family owned the Viking Fleet, and is now married to East Hampton Village Police Chief Jerry Larsen. Her list of civic and religious involvements is long: She has served on the East Hampton Community Council, the board of the Stella Maris Regional School, and the East Hampton Town Recreation Advisory Committee, among others. She coached and served as a vice president in the East Hampton Little League Association, and is a past president of the East Hampton Women’s Softball League.
“I felt I would like to serve the community on a broader scale, and the way to do that is to get involved in politics,” Ms. Mulhern-Larsen said. “I think getting in would be a great challenge, to try to solve some of the really important issues that we’re facing.”
“I’m open-minded and I get along with people really well,” she said. “I like to take a look at both sides and try to figure it out. You’re not going to please everybody all the time . . . but I’m just going to be independent and fair.”