Four seek Democratic nod in 5th Congressional District

The new 5th Congressional District will hold its first Democratic primary on June 26, as voters from southeastern Queens and parts of southwestern Nassau County will choose from among U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks of the 6th District, former New York City Councilman Allan Jennings, Mike Scala and Joseph Marthone.

Meeks, 58, who has represented the 6th District in the House of Representatives for 13 years, said he is running again for the same reason he did 13 years ago: to make a difference in people’s lives. “I get great satisfaction out of knowing that [I] can help someone,” he said, adding that he looks forward to combating the high number of foreclosures in the district and getting more people employed. He said he is also focused on the Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps in Valley Stream and developing the area around Belmont Park.

“We also understand that some of the issues that folks in Nassau County have will not be the same issues that the folks in New York City have,” Meeks said. “We’re going to give the citizens of Nassau County complete representation.”

Scala, 29, a recent law school graduate, said he is running for Congress because he wants it to focus more on everyday people. “I feel that the representatives we have now are too far removed from the communities they represent,” he said.

Scala said that addressing the FEMA flood maps would be among his top priorities, and that he hopes his decision to run for office will inspire other young people in the area to do the same in the future.

Marthone, 51, an accountant who owns his own firm, said he is very aware of the district’s needs and problems and looks forward to helping its residents if he is elected. “I am really running to make sure that I can make a difference that needs to be made,” Marthone said, “by the constituents having a voice in Congress where we currently do not have a voice.”