Dal LaMagna, a Sea Cliff businessman, is the Democratic candidate for Congress from the Third Congressional District. In an interview at Anton Community Newspapers, Mr. LaMagna said that his campaign is basically about three things: making business responsible; ending wealth disparity; and making government accountable.

LaMagna believes that businesses too often put profits before people. He said that it's time for elected officials to say "no more" to corporate interests, that too much taxpayer money goes into huge businesses which pay little or no taxes. LaMagna said he would like to see taxpayer money spent on quality of life issues such as the environment and education.

"Once we can accomplish that, then we can begin to work on wealth disparity, which is a huge problem. One percent of the population in this country has half the wealth."

To address and ultimately solve these issues, LaMagna believes that money needs to be taken out of the election process. "Our elected officials are prisoners of a financial system that requires them to raise all kinds of money to run for office," he said.

According to the candidate, the only way to do this is by enforcing a constitutional amendment that allows federal, state and local governments to limit the amount of money candidates can spend on their campaigns. He believes that such an amendment will not only assist those with little money to spend on campaigning, but it will also help the American people know who they are voting for based solely on their qualifications and not on their deep pockets.

"Once you limit the amount of money people can spend on campaigns, then I think every American should have a tax credit of $100 to give to the candidate or political action committee of their choice, which will level the playing fields."

LaMagna said he believes that if such an amendment is passed, elected officials will have more time to pay attention to their jobs and not have to worry so much about campaigning. He says that since the congressional term is only two years, from the day congressmen are elected they have to start worrying about where they're going to get the money to run again.

LaMagna's next mission would be to make businesses more responsible. "Over the last 20 years, big business has convinced the American people, through its think tanks, to deregulate business and to make our government smaller. The consequence of that is that we have a government that can't enforce its laws, and various departments don't have enough staff." He says the IRS not only doesn't have enough staff to pursue those who don't pay taxes, they don't even have enough staff to answer the phone.

"I think there should be severe penalties for corporations that break laws," he said. He believes that enforcing criminal penalties for officers of corporations would make irresponsible companies more responsible. He doesn't believe that corporations which break laws should be disbanded, that employees need to be protected. He does feel though that corporation officials should be penalized in the event that they are acting in an irresponsible manner.

LaMagna said he makes sure that his own company, Tweezerman, a personal care tool making company, is run in a responsible way. His employees are part owners of the company and they will have more than just their Social Security money once they are ready for retirement.

Once the issue of business responsibility is addressed, then the problem of wealth disparity can begin to be looked at, LaMagna said. He would first attack corporate welfare, saying that corporations only pay 10 percent of taxes, leaving 90 percent of the government to be financed by the public He said he would like to see people work fewer hours.

"The first step in helping wealth disparity is to get taxes down, so people have more money and they could save and buy things. We go after corporate welfare, we collect money from the corporations, and then we lower taxes for families that make $150,000 or less, that's the first step." LaMagna said he would also stop the taxation of Social Security, that Social Security is the largest tax that members of Generation X have to pay, and that they should not be taxed on that money.

LaMagna said that he would promote ownership of stocks, that employees of corporations should have that kind of partnership in the company that they work for. This would provide tax advantages to the owners, and also would give employees a capital gain when they are ready to retire. LaMagna said that this would help protect people who work for large corporations.

"We need to have a government program where you can borrow money because right now you can't borrow money unless you have money. Right now banks do not lend money to people who need it," the candidate said.

Through his campaign themes of focusing on finances, he said that other problems facing communities could be solved. He said he believes that through the battles he wants to fight, he will also be able to provide health care to more people, can help rebuild schools and put money into classrooms which need renovations and build more schools where they are necessary in overcrowding situations. He also would like to see more emphasis put on the environment, citing recent studies that show that both breast and prostate cancer on Long Island are directly connected to toxic pollution. "We need to work with the EPA to solve these issues."

While running for Congress, LaMagna says that he is not using a formula campaign. "I am not attacking my opponents, I am not profiling myself saying I'm a great guy, I am basically trying to get my message out and whether I win or lose, I will win.

"You can vote in two ways. You can go out on Nov. 7 at the ballot or you could vote with your dollars. When you buy something, make sure you buy it from a company with a heart and soul. Investigate the company you are buying from and make sure they're doing the right thing. That's where your power is."

LaMagna has his bachelor of arts in humanities from Providence College. He has been a member of the Social Venture Network since 1996, and is a member of the Environmental Committee of the Long Island Association. He ran for Congress in 1996 and for Oyster Bay town supervisor in 1997. He lives in Sea Cliff.