Legislator Dennis Dunne, Republican incumbent for the 15th Legislative District, is facing Democrat Teresa Butler on the Nov. 6 election. Dunne, who is also running on the Conservative, Independent and Right to Life Party lines, said that he wants to continue helping the residents of the 15th Legislative District get their fair share and believes his past accomplishments show that he is somebody who cares about the community.

"Right now my main focus is on the county budget," Dunne said. "We have to streamline government, we have to eliminate wasteful spending. I am currently going over the budget with a fine tooth comb; under a magnifying glass."

Dunne added that he wants to work at helping keep local residents in the area, especially since he, a lifetime resident of Levittown, has many friends who live in the area.

"The taxes are too high; I want to do everything I can not to increase the taxes," he said. "Having lived here my whole life, I have a lot of friends here, many neighbors. If taxes continue to increase, I'm going to lose some of my neighbors; some of my friends."

Dunne said that he has always been easily accessible to his constituents. He stressed that to be an important part of his job, making sure that he is somebody residents can always turn to with their problems. More importantly, somebody who can do something to ease those problems.

"Somebody has to be responsible," he said. "I have always been result-oriented; I have been accountable to the people."

Dunne said that while some of the decisions he has made as a legislator may not have been popular, that he believes he's always put the taxpayers first.

"Some of the decisions I have made as a legislator have not been easy, and may have been unpopular with some people," he said, explaining that in some situations those unhappy with his decisions have been special interest groups. "I want to work with special interest groups. While I have to be fair to [them], my main accountability has to lie with the taxpayers."

Saying that he has always been an advocate for youth, senior citizens and veterans, Dunne noted the programs and services in Levittown.

"We are fortunate to have such great talent services in our area," Dunne said, noting excellent volunteer services and the state-of-the-art fire academy. "They receive the best training possible."

Dunne hopes, if re-elected, that he can continue to fight for the district's piece of the pie.

"I just want to continue to work as hard as I can for the people of the 15th Legislative District," he said. "People deserve someone who grew up in the area, somebody who knows the area, somebody who loves the area."

Teresa Butler, the Democratic candidate for the 15th Legislative District, faced Dunne once before in the last legislative election in 1999. She is running again in hopes of helping the county get out of it's major fiscal crisis and to make government more efficient.

According to Butler, the main issue facing the county is the fiscal problem. "In terms of the district, given that the county has such fiscal problems, it has a negative effect on the residents of the district in terms of not getting value for their tax dollars," Butler said, adding that the district has been especially affected due to the bus and social services cuts it has experienced.

Butler said that if elected as legislator, she would work toward restoring some of the cuts that have had a negative effect on the district and the county as a whole.

"Once you make the government more efficient, in terms of improving the technology that the county workers use, which would increase efficiency, then you will improve the quality of life by possibly restoring some of the funding cuts," she said. Butler said that eliminating the Commissioner of Accounts Department is a possibility, adding that the department as a whole is unnecessary and the needed functions can be moved to different departments. She noted that this would help cut spending and make government more efficient.

Butler said she would, if elected, try to help in the effort by taking a close look at how the county spends its money. "I would be a very hands-on legislator," she said. "I would go into departments and look around and talk to the supervisors, managers and employees and see what they feel can be done to make the department more efficient or better run."

She added that employees in some county departments are working with insufficient technological equipment, such as outdated computers, and that if such problems are taken care of it would not only improve the efficiency of the work being done in the department but also the morale of the employees.

"I'd take a very close look at how the departments are run and where the money goes," she said, adding that her goals as legislator would be working toward improving those problems.

"It will be a big challenge," Butler admitted. "There's been no accountability in terms of the people running the different departments." She added that with the election of a new county executive things will get better. "With a new county executive coming in and a whole new administration, everyone's going to work together to solve the problems."

In addition to the fiscal problem facing the county as a whole, Butler said she would try to restore some of the cuts which affected local organizations such as Yours, Ours, Mine (YOM). In addition, she would attempt to improve the transportation system.

Butler, who moved to Levittown 11 years ago, lives with her husband James and her two sons. She has been active in several community organizations, such as Kiwanis, Community Council and the Levittown Property Owners Association. She added that her two sons have also kept her very busy as well, playing sports and taking part in Boy Scouts.

"Basically, it's kind of the way Levitt wanted it," Butler said of Levittown. "The people are good, the neighbors help each other. We have the pools, a lot of recreational activities for the kids. People are very active here," she said, adding that there are several parks and other recreational activities available for children and their families. "It has a good sense of community," she said.