The 4th Congressional District, currently represented by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, will be holding an election for this House of Representatives seat on Nov. 3, and on Sept. 15 the Republican Party will hold its primary to determine who the voters wish to run against the Democratic incumbent. Patricia M. Maher, a resident of East Meadow has obtained 1,824 signatures from Republican citizens in the 4th Congressional District, enabling her to run in the primary against New York State Assemblyman Greg Becker, who has been endorsed by the Nassau County Republican Party, the Conservative Party, and the Right to Life Party. Maher herself acknowledges that her race against the organizationally backed Becker is a longshot, and jokingly likens herself to Ring-Eyed Pete, the horse her father Dareld Maher owned and trained, who was considered a long-shot in the races, but who finally qualified at Roosevelt Raceway with a 2:07 mile and then went on to win a race at Yonkers when he was seven years old and became a famous racing champion over the odds.

Becker, in an interview with Garden City Life, declined to comment on the competition, except to say that he feels, "very confident" that with "organizational support" and the "volunteers who swarmed" to his campaign office that he will be victorious in the primary and will go on to challenge Congresswoman McCarthy and the "lack of representation" that he believes the residents of the 4th District are "being serviced with" at present.

When asked about the confusion that resulted from the announcement from Dan Frisa that he would run in the primary and then his later withdrawl from the race --given that the Becker for Congress camp had spent a significant amount of time addressing the Frisa candidacy-- and how all of this would impact the tone or direction of the campaign, Becker stated that he did not wish to discuss Frisa. He did say that the withdrawal did not "affect the day to day operations" of Becker for Congress and that he has learned with 16 years in the State Assembly to "expect the unexpected."

Despite his having declined to speak further on the role Frisa had played in the early development of the campaign and the impact the confusion may play during the primary vote during the interview, he had sent Garden City Life a press release in June regarding the initial announcement by Frisa to run. This statement, which was both authorized and paid for by Becker for Congress stated, "Dan Frisa had a chance to serve the families of this district, and his feeble attempt at that service resulted in failure, and it was that failure that led to his loss to Carolyn McCarthy in 1996. Dan Frisa's voting record is a record of failure. His record of voting on the environment is atrocious." The release went on to say, "Dan Frisa accomplished nothing as a congressman, and deserved to lose. Dan Frisa did not, and will not represent our families."

When asked what issues he plans to address in Congress if he were to defeat McCarthy, he said that as the son of a breast cancer victim, he sees this as an issue that is significant to him. He said that he has been "urging women" along his campaign route to "complete the County Department of Health's questionnaire" to help study the issue in light of cancer clusters and the high numbers of diagnosed women here on Long Island. He also said that he would use his "influence" as a Congressman in a "majority house" to support more funding of research and things like "breast surgery reconstruction instead of drive through mastectomies."

On other issues of concern to 4th Congressional District residents he pointed to the work of Governor Pataki in "increasing the efficiency" of the state and his support of Republican initiatives like Jenna's law, the STAR program, and the irradication of the deficit. As far as the party's support of the plans for the Hub he said, "I haven't fully seen the Draft Plan in its entirety [which does not yet contain the Hub plans] and have concerns about the Hub's possible impact. I have many questions which I would need to have answered before I could support it. The Hub is a vision, and I do have a great deal of concern about it." He also pointed to the "extradordinary rents charged by landlords" in this area as a challenge to downtown revitalization and said he would try to "work closely with mayors, towns, and the County Executive" if elected to Congress.

Nassau County Executive Thomas S. Gulotta has issued the following statement about the Hub plans in question, "The proper development of the Nassau Hub is the lynchpin of Nassau County's future economic vitality and identity. The current plans for the Hub include a new, multi-faceted sports complex designed to meet the needs of the Islanders and other sports franchises, a convention/exhibition center and a new hotel to accommodate visitors. The Hub will be connected to academic, retail, recreational and governmental facilities in the area by a people mover system to eliminate traffic congestion. The configuration of the Hub will be a plan that is achieved after much community input. The Hub is designed to benefit all of Nassau's taxpayers, homeowners, and businesses. It is our objective to develop a plan that meets community needs and concerns."

Challenger Pat Maher said in an interview with Garden City Life that she understands the political realities of the way things work mean that the Hub plans will definitely happen, but that she would like to be able to work with the officials to encourage businesses that are strong in technology and engineering, which would bring higher paying jobs to the area, and perhaps help reduce the mass daily pilgrimage to Manhattan by Long Islanders to work. She also commented that as a resident of East Meadow she hears her neighbors talk about the problems with living by the Source mall and the traffic it has generated in the area, and says that traffic will be a serious concern with the mass development of Central Nassau.

She also said that "New Hyde Park in the Denton Avenue and Marcus Avenue area, Carle Place along Old Country Road and Glen Cove Road, Garden City on Stewart Avenue and Clinton Avenue, Mineola along Jericho Turnpike and Hemsptead by Hofstra on Hempstead Turnpike all face speed issues and increased numbers of accidents. Federal funds could be used to put more lights in there and help the residents who often feel afraid to turn onto these major roads off of their residential streets." With the increases in accidents in the area, comes increased insurance rates, and Maher says this is an issue which impacts all residents and needs to be addressed on a federal level.

After having walked door to door throughout the district (which consists of: Garden City, Mineola, New Hyde Park, Franklin Square, Garden City Park, Hempstead, Hewlett, Inwood, Valley Stream, North Woodmere, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, Freeport, Baldwin, North Bellmore, Cedarhurst/Lawrence, East Meadow, Floral Park, Lakeview, Lynbrook, Westbury, Stewart Manor, Uniondale, West Hempstead, Malverne, North Valley Stream, Valley Stream, Salisbury, New Cassel, and the Willistons), she says that she understands the concerns of residents about issues that touch their lives like health insurance, breast cancer, and the environment. She says she believes, "the reason Carolyn McCarthy has gained so much support throughout the district with voters in both parties is that she's very real and people feel that they can relate to her" and says that she feels she can bring that same sense of reality to the Republican ticket.

When speaking about the environment, we asked her about her stand on the freight issue, to which she responded that the entire issue of transportation here on Long Island needs to be re-examined. She also said that bringing freight through villages like Garden City, past schools and by homes and playgrounds, is a serious matter, and at the same time the current truck traffic through residential areas is problematic as well. Becker, when asked the same question expressed surprise to hear that the LIRR has leased their rails to a private freight company which had expressed plans to ship ash, propane, and other cargo across Nassau County, and was pleased to hear that there had been a moratorium arranged by the village mayors, County, and State. He added, "I don't see how the LIRR could share the lines and have it be safe. They're pumping commuter trains at night out east and this seems like it would negatively impact their attempts to provide more commuter service. This would be detrimental to the economy, because late trains impact the economy and if there were an accident or a leakage, it could shut down a line for an entire day." He concluded, "The way we have it now with the tractor trailers is better."

In a combined rail and Hub question, Garden City Life asked about reports that despite the protests of residents in Carle Place, the monorail proposed for the Hub area may still have a stop in that area. Pat Maher said that she knows that many residents signed those petitions, in fact when she approached doors in Carle Place for signatures for her candidacy, many asked if she was there about the monorail petition. She said that she knows that the reports are that the station is still planned for Carle Place, but that surrounding areas should not take this to mean that the work of Legislator Nicolello and residents has been for nought and urges areas like Garden City, East Meadow, and Uniondale to attend Public Hearings scheduled for September and says that as a resident of East Meadow herself, she shares these concerns.

On this same subject, Greg Becker questioned Garden City Life on what form the public outcry had taken against the station, which was proposed for the site of two active wells, and when told about Civic Association petitions and public statements made by Legislator Nicolello at Planning Commission meetings, Becker then commented that the plans are still not finalized, but rather are "an idea."

Mort Certilman, a member of the Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum Privitization Committee, was quoted in The Westbury Times, another Anton Newspaper as saying, "The proposal to build a new railroad station in Carle Place to link to the Hub is not a dead issue. It's simply one that has not been addressed at this time. Nothing regarding the transit aspect of the Hub has been addressed in the past 30 to 45 days." He continued, "One reason for the delay was that we've done all the work we can do until we finalize what's to be done on the 70-acre parcel of land surrounding the Nassau Coliseum." He added, "The other factor was funding. Until we secured funding, we were kind of dead in the water in regard to implementing what is a very expensive plan. Fortunately, Senator Alphonse D'Amato was recently able to stick a provision in to get us up to $10 million in ISTEA [Intermodal Surface Transportation Act] funds."

The Congressional election will bring with it debates on issues like gun control, health care, education funding, taxes, and the future face of the district. As Congresswoman McCarthy continues to express her views and discuss the federal legislation she has sponsored, on issues ranging from parental responsibility with handguns to managing managed health care, in her columns that appear in this paper, Becker and Maher gear up for a face off in the voting booths on Sept. 15. Once the primary is over and one of these two Republican candiates emerges victorious, the process of challenging incumbent McCarthy will begin, and both have already said they would participate in debates to air their views on these issues before the Nov. 3 election.