Levittown resident Rich Ahrens is challenging incumbent Legislator Dennis Dunne for his seat in the 15th Legislative District in the Sept. 11 Republican primary.

Ahrens moved to Levittown in 1965 and is a graduate of Island Trees High School. This year's primary will be a rematch of the 1997 primary between Dunne and Ahrens when Ahrens labeled himself as the "blue collar Republican."

"I am still the blue collar Republican and there is still a stark contrast between me and Dunne," he said.

"I'm just one of these guys that [sits] around the kitchen table with [his] friends and complains about everything," he said. "You can't fix the world from your kitchen table. To change anything you have to get in there and run."

Ahrens said that the biggest problem concerning the Levittown area is the tax issue, adding that his family has lived outside of the New York area and that there is not nearly the huge tax problem in other areas.

"There is something really wrong when we are paying the highest taxes in the country and we're in the debt that we're in," he said. "Where is the money going?

"There is this problem of patronage," he added. "I plan to uncover [many] of these wasteful jobs. It's not right."

Adding that it's not fair to the residents, Ahrens stated that he would not only make an effort to abolish unnecessary jobs, he would also try to work toward spending government money properly.

"I'm going to spend people's money like it was coming out of my own pocket," he said. "Those who know me will tell you that I still have my first nickel.

"I believe that the insanity of bi-lingualism needs to be addressed," Ahrens said. He explained that in 1997, a bus driver was found driving around the Levittown area, lost for nearly four hours. According to Ahrens, when the driver was tracked down three blocks away from the school, worried parents and police officers found that he did not know how to speak English. However, Ahrens added, he was able to receive a driver's license.

"Who gave him a job driving children to school? This insanity has to stop," he said. "I don't think that's prejudice because I feel you're here in America, to have a driver's license you should speak English."

Ahrens added that he doesn't believe that non-English-speaking residents shouldn't be granted a driver's license at all, just that they should be better educated in the language so they understand driving rules and traffic signs.

"I've been to France," he said. "I wouldn't think of getting behind a steering wheel in a car in France. I tried to take the train in Paris from the airport and I needed a guide because I couldn't read the signs. So what's the difference between that and these people here?"

Ahrens, who ran for a school board position in the late 1990s, said that he feels this time he will be successful. "I've been fighting the system for 8 to 10 years and I really feel that I have a great chance of winning this time," he said. "I find that more and more people are unhappy with my opponent and I [understand that] in order to live here you have to work hard. I'm tired of it, to tell the truth."

Ahrens noted that too many politicians do what the "party bosses" or special interest groups want them to do. "The wonderful thing about me is I have no ties, I have my job all by myself, no party bosses to answer to. That's why they're trying so hard to keep me out.

"Once I get in there, then the people will get the say about what's going on. No more excuses. We need a man with convictions."

Ahrens said he is confident that the people of Levittown are ready for a change. "I don't believe the people of Levittown are clueless and I think coming this Sept. 11 people will show that."