4th Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a Democrat running for her seventh term in the House, is being challenged by Republican Jack Martins, the mayor of Mineola.
McCarthy, the first congresswoman from Long Island, is the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities and serves on the Education and Labor, and Financial Services committees. She is a lifelong resident of Mineola and has more than 30 years' experience as a nurse.
Martins has been Mineola's mayor since 2003, and he implemented the village's first Comprehensive Master Plan project in 60 years. He also began televising village board meetings and launched the village's first Web site. He, too, has lived in Mineola all his life.
Martins said he believes people should be given tax credits to pay for their health care. He proposed credits of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families. McCarthy said that tax credits would not be enough, with the average family paying $12,000 for health insurance.
Martins said that the House Committee on Financial Services' Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, on which McCarthy sits, did not start its review of banking institutions and predatory lending until the financial situation hit rock bottom. What was needed in the first place, he said, was a stimulus package that would have allowed more liquidity in the credit markets.
McCarthy said that Congress had started to curb predatory lending in 2005, adopting regulations on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and that Republicans did not want any oversight whatsoever in the 10 years before that. That is why, she said, "we're in the mess we're in today."
On the issue of gun control, both candidates agree that it is up to the federal and state governments to control who can purchase guns, and that there should be a "cool-down" period so a gun buyer can not take a gun home the same day.
- Mary Malloy
6th Senate District
Republican incumbent Kemp Hannon, a lifelong Garden City resident who has held the seat since 1990, is being challenged by Democrat Kristen McElroy, a criminal defense attorney. This is McElroy's first campaign for public office.
The candidates are vying to represent a district that encompasses Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Lakeview, East Meadow, Salisbury, Garden City and Hempstead, among other areas.
As the chairman of the state Senate's Standing Committee on Health, Hannon, 62, said he has worked diligently to create and support legislation that addresses health issues and improves patient care. This year alone, he said, he has sponsored more than 10 laws aimed at enhancing health care services and patient safety, and he took part in a joint effort with the Long Island delegation to secure $750,000 in state funding for the creation of a Medicaid fraud unit in Nassau County, which is now in the works. He also serves as the co-chair of the Senate Medicaid Reform Task Force.
Hannon is running on the Republican, Conservative and Independent party lines.
McElroy, 33, also a lifelong resident of Garden City, said she is running because she wants to bring "a real change in leadership in Albany." She said the district needs a fresh face, someone who will bring "new and bold ideas" to the Senate.
McElroy also said that one of her strengths is that she is not a career politician, and does not owe any favors to special-interest groups and lobbyists. As a taxpayer, an attorney and a mother, she said, she knows firsthand how difficult it has become to raise a family on Long Island.
If elected, she said, she wants to create legislation and initiatives that "hold the line on taxes and provide real property tax relief." She is in favor of a property tax cap on school spending as well as a "circuit breaker" that would cap property taxes based on income.
McElroy is running on the Democratic and Working Families party lines.
- Dana Williams
8th Senate District
Democrat Carol Gordon, a Massapequa community activist, is challenging five-term state Sen. Charles Fuschillo Jr., a Republican from Merrick.
The primary issue in the race is property taxes. Fuschillo voted in favor of Gov. David Paterson's plan to cap property taxes at 4 percent per year unless the community overrides the cap with a super-majority vote. Thus far, despite Paterson's call for a cap and the Senate's passage of one, it has not passed the Democratically controlled Assembly.
Gordon said she favors a property-tax "circuit breaker," which would cap property taxes for homeowners who could not afford higher rates.
Gordon is vice president of the Breezy Point Civic Association, a member of the Save Jones Beach committee, a board member of the North Amityville Community Economic Council, a member of the North Amityville Old School Association and third vice president of the central Long Island chapter of the NAACP.
Before becoming a state senator, Fuschillo was executive director of the Education and Assistance Corporation, a nonprofit social services agency. He graduated from Adelphi University with a degree in finance.
- Scott Brinton
15th Assembly District
Incumbent Rob Walker, a Republican from Hicksville, is running for a second term in the Assembly. He is being challenged by Democrat Stephanie Ovadia, an attorney from East Meadow.
Walker, who at 33 is the youngest member of the Assembly, has represented the district since May 2005. He said that the state's fiscal situation is a crucial issue, and that it must be addressed by all levels of government without overburdening taxpayers. He prides himself on being accessible to constituents and addressing quality-of-life concerns. Another of his objectives is to find ways to encourage young people to stay on Long Island.
Ovadia, who has practiced law for 23 years, has said she has a great understanding of it and now wants to be part of the process of creating it. She identified high property taxes as a major issues, and said that the county should receive more funding from the state. Addressing the state's severe budget deficit, Ovadia stressed that money can be saved by consolidating services on all levels of
government.
The 15th District comprises portions of East Meadow, Salisbury, Hicksville, Westbury, and other areas to the north.
- Mike Caputo
17th Assembly District
East Meadow Republican Tom McKevitt, the incumbent, faces Democratic challenger John Pinto, a school board member for the North Merrick and Bellmore-Merrick Central High School districts.
McKevitt, 37, a lawyer and a lifelong East Meadow resident, won a special election in February 2006 after Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell vacated her seat to become county clerk. He won his first full term in November 2006.
McKevitt has maintained a perfect voting attendance record, and has expressed a willingness to work with those outside his party. He aims to gain more government aid for local school districts, while also proposing to cut mandates and to make modifications to the state's educational
structure.
Pinto, 45, who has lived in Merrick all his life, has worked in the printing industry for 30 years and has spent more than a decade serving on local school boards. He has experience in shaping school budgets, and says he is aware of the challenges districts face when it comes to state aid and mandates. Pinto said that if elected, he would fight hard for a fair share of aid, and that he would have more influence for his district because he would be a member of the Assembly's Democratic majority.
The 17th District includes portions of East Meadow, North Merrick, Merrick, North Bellmore, Uniondale, Roosevelt, Garden City, Garden City Park, New Hyde Park, Mineola, Carle Place, Albertson, East Williston and Williston Park.
- Mike Caputo
18th Assembly District
The race in the 18th District pits Democrat Earlene Hooper, the incumbent, who has held the seat since 1988, against Republican challenger Darren Bryant, a community activist who ran unsuccessfully last year for a seat in the Nassau County Legislature. The two candidates are vying to represent a district that encompasses Lakeview, parts of West Hempstead, East Meadow, South Hempstead, Freeport, Hempstead and Roosevelt, among other areas.
Hooper, a 38-year Hempstead resident, said she decided to run for re-election because she wants to continue to improve the district. During her current term, she said, she has lobbied for and obtained millions of dollars for education, health care and revitalization and infrastructure projects, among other needs, in the district. She was part of an effort that provided $61 million to improve health care service delivery at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. The funds, Hooper said, will fund emergency room upgrades and other improvements at the facility.
If she is re-elected, Hooper said, one of her priorities would be to complete projects she has begun in Roosevelt and Hempstead to create new, full-service health centers. She also plans to continue to work with other elected officials to improve school district facilities and roads in Hempstead.
Bryant did not respond to several calls requesting an interview.
- Dana Williams
19th Assembly District
The race for the 19th District seat pits incumbent David McDonough, a Republican from North Merrick, against challenger Howard Kudler, a Democrat from Merrick.
McDonough, a self-described conservative, said he fully supports Gov. David Paterson's call for an annual property tax cap of 4 percent, unless a super-majority of a community votes for a higher increase.
Kudler, a high school social studies teacher in Queens, said he believes the key to lowering property taxes is reducing "redundancy and waste in the schools."
McDonough, who served in the Coast Guard and the Air Force, earned a degree in economics from Columbia University. He now serves as chairman of the New York State Armed Forces Legislative Caucus, which comprises member of the Assembly and Senate. The caucus is charged with ensuring that veterans are aware of the full range of services that the state offers them. McDonough said that veterans are entitled to tuition credits worth up to $4,300 at state colleges and universities, as well as employment counseling, but many veterans are unaware of the benefits.
- Scott Brinton
