Looking to serve a second term in the eighth Senatorial District, Republican Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. is focusing his campaign on the two main issues he feels are most important: education and children. In an interview with Anton Community Newspapers earlier this week, Fuschillo said that while his primary focus is on education on Long Island, he is also concerned with keeping the economy strong. As a state senator, Fuschillo represents numerous communities in both Nassau and Suffolk County, including parts of Farmingdale, Massapequa, Wantagh and Seaford.

According to Fuschillo, who was first elected to the Senate in March of 1998, his most impressive achievement while serving for two and a half years was authoring legislation that will create a variety of jobs and add more than $200 million to the Long Island economy with the recent construction of the 70,000 square-foot bioscience medical research facility at SUNY Farmingdale. The bioscience park, which celebrated its near completion with a ribbon cutting ceremony in late September, received an $8 million grant secured by the senator to help support and increase the facility with an expansion. "The park is so critical for Long Island's future economy, and it will go a long way in protecting the people of Long Island," said Fuschillo.

Fuschillo said that protecting the future economy will ultimately help children who are currently in schools. A father of three children, Fuschillo said it's very important to him that his children remain on Long Island after they complete their schooling. He added that by ensuring Long Island's economy will continue to grow through facilities such as the bioscience park, college graduates will stay on Long Island and not be forced to look elsewhere for jobs.

In his goal of protecting children and focusing on education, Fuschillo passed legislation that will make college tuition tax deductible up to $10,000 per child per year, starting in the 2001 school year. The deduction will be permitted for tuition payments made by either the parent(s) of a dependent child or an individual taxpayer attending college or other eligible institution of higher education. To make the deduction available to everyone, Fuschillo made sure there are no income limits. Further ensuring protection for children, Fuschillo authored anti-crime bills that will require criminal background checks for prospective school employees; require school employees to report allegations of child abuse in a school setting; as well as require criminal background checks of all child care providers and individuals who reside in a home-based daycare program.

In addition, Fuschillo has written laws that range from requiring the posting of fees at ATM's, to giving cancer victims the right to adopt children, and to allowing children with asthma conditions to carry their inhalers to school. According to Fuschillo, his most recent accomplishments while in the Senate include: authoring legislation that would require all children under the age of 16 to wear seat belts when traveling in the back seat of a car; passing legislation to ban the sale of tobacco over the internet to minors; creating enhanced safety measures for day care centers throughout the state; notifying disabled drivers of their rights to have self serve prices at the full serve gas pump; and channeling an estimated $1.1 million every year to breast cancer research by matching donations made to the Breast Cancer Research and Education fund on state income tax returns.

As the chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee and a member of the New York State Senate Privacy Invasion Task Force, Fuschillo authored legislation that would create the first in the state "Telemarketer Do Not Call Registry." This registry was designed to empower consumers to stop unsolicited telemarketers from calling their homes and to help seniors and all consumers to protect themselves from fraudulent telemarketers.

For his efforts to enact anti-DWI legislation to lower the legal Blood Alcohol Contact Level (BAC) in New York State to .08, Fuschillo was recognized by organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). He also increased penalties for repeat DWI offenders and was recognized by MADD for his efforts in constructing a first of its kind memorial for victims of drunk driving on Long Island.

If re-elected, Fuschillo said he would like to further enhance the Long Island economy. "I want to continue creating jobs for Long Island. We are in good economic times and it's important that we look to the future and have a vision toward creating and keeping Long Island's economic conditions prosper," he said. In addition, Fuschillo wants to expand on what was done at the bioscience park in Farmingdale and continue to create more opportunities for both businesses as well as students through that facility.

The Senator added that his primary focus will forever be on children and education. "Through legislation that I passed we have brought millions upon millions of dollars into local school districts. I want to maintain my priority focus on education. My focus has and always will be on education and children," Fuschillo stated. The legislation Fuschillo passed to increase school aid includes funding that will defray costs for transportation, summer school, full and pre-kindergarten program, instructional computer technology, and teacher attraction and retention programs.

In addition to chairing the Senate Consumer Protection Committee, Fuschillo also serves as a member on the committees for alcoholism and drug abuse, children and families, commerce economic development and small business, education, health, labor and transportation.

Prior to his election in 1998, Fuschillo was the chief operating officer of a private non-profit human service agency where he managed over 400 employees and 40 human service programs throughout Long Island and New York City. In addition, he is a board member of Merrick Kiwanis, the Merrick Chamber of Commerce, the Merrick Police Athletic League, Nassau County Italian Americans in Government, and the Chatterton PTA. Fuschillo lives in Merrick with his wife Ellen and their three children.