Three Levittown residents are on the Nassau County Board of Elections' ballot for the Nassau County Legislature's 15th District, which includes part of Levittown, Salisbury, and part of Wantagh.

Dunne, the incumbent, has been a member of the Nassau County Republican Party for many years and is this year facing Democrat Teresa Butler and Right-to-Life Candidate Benjamin Slutsky.

Butler is a new name on the ballot. Although this is her first time running for office herself, she volunteered for Carolyn McCarthy's campaign for Congress twice and has served as a Democratic committeewoman. Butler is also running on the Liberal line and for the Working Families party.

A Levittown resident for nearly 10 years, Butler is a graduate of SUNY Stony Brook, where she received her bachelors in economics with a minor in political science. She also received her paralegal certificate from Hofstra University. She and her husband Jimmy have two children.

Butler is concerned about a lot of the major issues that face the 15th Legislative District. One of her major concerns is the re-assessment of property values. She believes that Levittown is being heavily over-taxed and that the county needs to do something to fix that situation. Another concern that Butler has is the deficit in the county. She would like to see every department in the county re-evaluated. She said that the county should not be $300 million in debt and if elected she would do everything she could to eliminate that debt by doing a major efficiency study for the entire county.

Butler thinks that her chances in this election are very good. "I feel confident that at least I can get my message across...given the situation the county's in, I think my chances are very good," said Butler. She has spoken with many people around the district and said that she has learned that residents are not happy with the situation and want the problems with the county government to be acknowledged. She believes that right now the county government is spending more time pointing their fingers at each other than trying to solve the problems facing the county. She concluded, "The people want it fixed and we don't want little band-aids covering it up. We want real solutions."

Darren Bloch, executive director for the Nassau Democratic County Committee also feels that Butler's chances are very good. When asked why the Democratic party chose to back Butler he noted, "She's a fantastic woman, she's got a great profile, and she's got a great sense about her community and the communities in that legislative district so that in itself was appealing." Bloch goes on to note Butler's strong family ties, coming from a strong, working family and her past commitment to the Democratic party.

In light of the problems that the county is facing under Republican leadership, Bloch feels that the Democratic candidates will fare very well in this election. "I think the voters of Nassau County are fed up continually electing people who are not looking out for their well-being and for the finances of the county and I think that we've sort of hit a critical juncture where people are starting to sense that we need to go into a different direction and by putting up a viable and solid alternative to those candidates, I think the Democratic party is going to do very well." Butler's energy, and her ability to go out and talk to hundreds of people in a day and convey her concerns for the families of Nassau County will help her win the election, according to Bloch.

Many of the same concerns that Butler expressed are echoed by the third candidate in this election, Ben Slutsky. This is Slutsky's third time challenging Dunne for county legislature. He has been running for various political positions nearly every year for the last 20 years. His first run was against Al D'Amato for Presiding Supervisor for the Town of Hempstead in 1979. He has run for county legislature every year since it was established in 1991 and most recently challenged Kathleen Murray and Tina Davidson for New York State Assembly.

For the most part Slutsky describes himself as being unconnected to any political party or special interest group, although in the last county election he ran as a Democrat. Despite his disdain for what he terms "political volleyball," Slutsky said he would be happy to run under any party heading to get their backing so he can get his message out and does not understand why the Democratic party chose not to back him in this election.

Slutsky's main message is one of financial thrift in the county. He is against political patronage and feels that eliminating that and with thrift, the county's deficit could be eliminated. "There's no reason for us to be below. Nassau County- one of the most affluent counties in the United States, coming up short. Makes no sense to anybody." He added, "As far as my Right-to-Life stance, I feel very strongly for life. I feel that this is ordained and people have no right to murder near-born or unborn children."

Slutsky feels that this may be the year that he finally wins an election. "I think I have an excellent chance at winning. I think the people are ready for me and I think everybody should get behind me financially and in every other way, volunteer their services, because Nassau County needs me very badly. I don't need Nassau County but Nassau County needs me."