Congressman Peter King is running for his sixth term in the United States House of Representatives on the Republican, Conservative, Independent and Right to Life Party lines. He was first elected to represent New York's Third Congressional District in 1992.

According to King, the most important issue right now, and one that is going to continue for quite a few years, is the war against terrorism and rebuilding New York. He plans to continue working with the President of the United States on both of these fronts.

If re-elected, King, who said he is most proud of remaining independent and fighting for New York, also plans to strengthen the economy, create jobs and root out corporate corruption. "To help strengthen our economy, I would curb unnecessary spending and be careful about spending," said King. "We need to provide middle income tax cuts because they need the relief and it will encourage consumer spending, which is essential to our economy today."

King serves on the Financial Services Committee and the International Relations Committee. He is an advocate of tax relief for working families; safeguarding Social Security and Medicare; and strengthening our national defense.

"As a member of the Financial Services Committee, we are going to continue investigations on corporate corruption and pass any new laws that are necessary," said King. "Corporate corruption is what undermines confidence in our economy. It scares people away from the stock market, making investments and it causes concerns over their pensions. This goes right to the heart of our economic system."

After redistricting, the lines of the Third Congressional District were changed. The district now includes about 150,000 residents of Suffolk County and lost between 70,000 and 80,000 residents in Nassau County. King said he will be spending time campaigning in both counties, talking to residents and learning about those issues that concern them.

Among his successful initiatives, King cites securing the votes to pass the first-ever Federal study of the high rate of breast cancer on Long Island and winning the approval of a comprehensive plan to rebuild the storm-damaged beaches on Long Island's south shore.

Prior to serving in Congress, King was elected to three terms in 1981, 1985 and 1989 as the Comptroller of Nassau County. As the county's chief fiscal watchdog, King initiated official audits and investigations, which resulted in millions of dollars in savings to local taxpayers. He began his political career in November of 1977 by winning election to the Hempstead Town Council.

King was born on April 5, 1944 and is a graduate of St. Francis College, Brooklyn, and the University of Notre Dame Law School. He is a lifelong resident of New York and has lived in Nassau County for more than 30 years. King and his wife, Rosemary, reside in Seaford with their two children, Sean and Erin.

Stuart Finz, a political newcomer running on the Democratic party line, is seeking election in the third congressional district. Although a new face to politics, he believes his experience in fighting for people's causes as a lawyer has given him a great deal of political experience.

Finz was born in Queens in 1957. Growing up in Little Neck, he attended the local public schools and graduated from Cardozo High School. Finz's interest in politics was initiated during the political campaigns that he participated in during his father's run for U.S. Congress, New York Civil Court Judge and New York State Supreme Court.

After graduating from Long Island University, C.W. Post campus, Finz worked full-time at the Manhattan law firm of Julian, Schlesinger & Finz where his father, Leonard L. Finz, a former New York State Supreme Court Justice, was partner. Finz holds a Juris Doctor degree from Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

Stuart Finz and his wife Cheri, who also became an attorney and is admitted to practice law in the state of California, have two children - Jacqueline, who attends Jericho High School and Brandon, who attends Jericho Middle School.

Finz is the president and CEO of Finz & Finz, PC, a litigation law firm located in Jericho that specializes in representing seriously injured victims. "One of the most important things to me is that I have been fighting for individuals over my entire professional life against corporate giants," said Finz. "I want to continue my fight in Washington."

Finz maintains a strong stance on many important issues. Firstly is Campaign Finance Reform. "We need campaign finance reform so large corporations are not pouring billions of dollars into the political system to secure special favors from various political parties and individuals. There must be a separation between large corporate America and our political system," he said.

Social Security is an important issue to Finz. "People work their entire lives and they pay into a system that's supposed to be there when they retire. I am a strong proponent that we must have a strong lock box for Social Security," he said.

Finz said he realizes the critical nature of environmental issues on Long Island and stated that the Superfund agenda needs to be revisited to be sure that polluters are the ones who pay. "We should not have Superfund dollars be funded by general tax dollars. Those corporate giants who pollute our air, water and ground must be responsible and must pay into the Superfund for cleanups."

Two other issues very important to Finz that he intends to focus on are a woman's right to choose and education. "A woman's right to choose is very important to me. She has the right to choose the destiny of her body and the government should not dictate to a woman whether or not she can make her own choice with regard to pregnancy,"

"I am also a strong advocate for education. Every dollar we can put in the educational system will benefit our children and our society," Finz said.