Becker, Scaturro battle for seat

It will be a three-way race in November for Carolyn McCarthy’s 4th Congressional District seat. Nassau County Legislator Francis X. Becker (R-Lynbrook), winner of the June 26 Republican primary, lost on the Conservative ticket to Frank Scaturro — and Scaturro is coming out fighting.

“As a proud, lifelong Republican, my standard always has been, as it shall remain, to endorse the Republican nominee barring egregious circumstances that would counsel doing otherwise,” said Scaturro, 39. “Unfortunately, this election presents such circumstances.”

Scaturro, a Hempstead resident and onetime counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee who is now an attorney in New York City, was certified as the winner of the Conservative Party primary as a write-in candidate in July.

McCarthy, 68, a Democrat from Mineola who was first elected to the House in 1996, will be seeking her ninth term. Becker, 59, who lives in Lynbrook, defeated Scaturro in the 2010 primary but lost to McCarthy in the general election by a margin of 7.2 percentage points.

“To support a candidate in our system, we should demand that the candidate meet a minimal standard of ethics, integrity and respect for the law,” said Scaturro. “Sadly, Mr. Becker fails this test.” Scaturro has called on Becker to take his name off the ballot.

“The very essence of his campaign was a fraud,” he added. “For the good of the party, as a just apology to the voters and for the cause of unseating Carolyn McCarthy, Mr. Becker should withdraw from this race.”

Scaturro said that Becker lets “the political machine” do his work for him, and that he refused to debate Scaturro following a “substandard” performance at a forum held at Hofstra University.

“It’s sad and unfortunate that Frank Scaturro is continuing to feed his own ego by still running for Congress,” Becker responded. “For him, it’s obviously not about electing Republicans or sticking by conservative principles. Voters know that the best way to retire Carolyn McCarthy after 16 years of her failed economic policies is to vote on the Republican line for Fran Becker this November.”