By:Scott Brinton
The war in Iraq dominates debate in the race for the Third Congressional District, which pits longtime incumbent U.S. Rep. Peter King, a Republican of Seaford, against securities-industry attorney and political newcomer Blair Mathies, a Democrat of Babylon Village.
The Third C.D. takes in all of Island Park, Lido Beach and Long Beac and parts of Baldwin, Bellmore, Merrick, North Bellmore and Oceanside, among other areas.
King has been one of President Bush's staunchest congressional allies since Sept. 11, 2001, and has framed much of his current term around national security. He was the only downstate New York congressman to secure a post on the House's coveted Homeland Security Committee. And he has been a consistently vociferous advocate for the war in Iraq.
King stopped short of calling Iraq a clear and present danger to the United States. "Iraq was a gathering storm and a growing threat," he told the Herald.
He also noted, "The war against Iraq was, and is, entirely justified -- morally, militarily and diplomatically. Saddam Hussein admitted to having weapons of mass destruction but refused to account for them. President Bush rightly concluded that, in the post-Sept. 11 world, we cannot give the benefit of the doubt to a dictator in the most volatile region of the world."
Mathies said, "I wouldn't say I'm against the war. I think the president acted recklessly."
He also said, "I don't know why we're in Iraq. The explanation I get is the war on terrorism. Peter King, that's all he talks about. It's largely a fear tactic to justify actions in Iraq that are largely unjustifiable and overshadow issues domestically."
Mathies said the U.S. must reach out to the international community, which he believes mostly rejected the war in Iraq and was insulted when the U.S.-led coalition invaded without a decisive U.N. mandate.
"I'd like to see the U.S. repair the damage that has been done within the international community," he said. "After Sept. 11, America had the empathy of nearly the entire world. We had tremendous goodwill from so many countries, and we managed to squander that so quickly by acting unilaterally in the international community, against the grain of most nations in the world."
King insisted that the U.S. proceeded cautiously in the months before the war, exhausting international diplomatic channels before invading. "America was extraordinarily prudent in its lead-up to Iraq," he said. And, referring to the time between the first Gulf War and the current conflict, he noted, "No one can say 12 years is hasty."
King added, "President Bush and [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair decided that France and Germany and a minority of European countries were never going to support us, no matter what. ... In effect, George W. Bush decided that France could not be given a veto over American foreign policy."
Subhead: On homeland security
Both candidates criticized the current formula for divvying up federal homeland-security dollars, which doesn't factor in the terrorist threat that a city like New York faces.
King said, "The formula has been entirely unsatisfactory. This is a regional issue, not a partisan issue. I advocate homeland-security funding being based entirely on threat analysis. We have made a lot of progress in formula legislation, which could pass this fall."
Subhead: On the environment
Major environmental groups have lambasted King's record on "green" issues for many years, and Mathies has seized on their criticisms in his campaign.
Mathies said of King, "In a good year, his record with the environment is abysmal." He noted the Farmingdale Superfund site, a toxic-waste repository that, he said, "No one's done anything about."
But King said he has worked with the federal Environmental Protection Agency "to recommend the most comprehensive cleanup" of the site.
Mathies also said the U.S. should put greater emphasis on alternative energy sources, such as wind, and he opposes oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Many environmentalists say drilling in ANWR could devastate a fragile ecosystem that represents one of the U.S.'s few remaining pristine wildernesses. But drilling proponents say that, with modern technology, oil could be extracted from ANWR with minimal disturbance to the natural habitat.
King has long favored drilling in ANWR, which has brought much of the criticism against his environmental record. "I strongly support drilling in ANWR," he told the Herald.
But he believes more oil alone will not solve America's growing energy crisis. "Now more than ever, we realize the importance of having a robust and environmentally sensitive energy policy," he said. "We cannot solve the problems of global warming or our reliance on foreign oil simply by choosing a single approach. Implementing a balanced strategy is the right way to emphasize energy conservation and alternative forms of energy."
On education
The federal No Child Left Behind Act, the centerpiece of the president's education agenda, has become an issue in this year's election. Many Democratic candidates like Mathies charge that it creates reams of unnecessary paperwork for educators, while providing inadequate funding to school districts to pay for all of its new requirements.
Mathies said the act's testing requirements largely duplicate New York's, and thus are unneeded here. And he said the act awards federal dollars to school districts that meet its new testing standards, but does not offer the same funding to districts that fail to meet those standards. That means, he said, that many of the poorest communities, which traditionally have had the toughest time making the grade on standardized tests, will get less money than their wealthier counterparts.
Of the act, Mathies concluded, "I don't think the federal government can create a one-size-fits-all program for the country. What works for Texas doesn't necessarily work for Long Island."
King said, "On balance, the No Child Left Behind Act has been a positive move forward. For instance, during its first two years, this law provided more Title I funding [for education] than the previous eight years. For the 2004-2005 school year, Long Island will receive $53 million in Title I funds."
On health care
Mathies sharply criticized the federal prescription-drug discount program for seniors. "It's so hard to figure out how to use," he said. "There are 70 ways to apply, and no one has figured out how to apply."
King believes he has a strong record on health care, and notes that he worked with Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, to secure an additional $2 billion in Medicaid funds for New York. And King said he has obtained numerous federal grants for local hospitals and fire departments.
Candidates' biographies
King is serving his sixth term in the House of Representatives. In 2002 he was elected with 73 percent of the vote. The congressman is now on the House Financial Services and International Relations committees.
Before Congress, King served three terms as Nassau County comptroller. He began his political career in 1978 on the Town of Hempstead Council. He earned an undergraduate degree from St. Francis College in Brooklyn and a law degree from Notre Dame. King and his wife, Rosemary, live in Seaford. They have two children.
Mathies earned degrees in business administration and economics from Duke and Emory universities and a law degree from Touro College on Long Island. He is director of regulatory affairs at Nomura Securities International, a Japanese financial services company with offices in Manhattan. He previously served as deputy director of the National Association of Securities Dealers, where he policed the securities industry by investigating questionable stock trades. Prior to that, he managed his family's well-drilling business for a decade. He is married, and has three children.
ITAL: Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
