County Legislator Norma Gonsalves is seeking re-election to the 13th Legislative District. Gonsalves, the Republican incumbent to the position, was first elected in 1997 and re-elected in 1999 and 2001.

Gonsalves said she is an advocate for constituent service and believes that for the past six years she has addressed a number of concerns successfully. She noted that she is looking for the opportunity to do more for the residents of the district and see some of her plans and ideas reach fruition.

"I believe there is more to be done to bring the county to fiscal stability," she said. "There are environmental issues that I have addressed and would like to see through, such as the Meadow Parkway Corridor as a passive use park for hiking, walking and biking and protecting open space and our drinking water," Gonsalves said. "My constituency knows whom to call when there is a problem. My accessibility to them is very important in order to succeed in addressing their concerns."

In addition to keeping herself available to residents, the legislator cited some other accomplishments she feels she has reached while in office.

"The East Meadow School District is no longer shortchanged of its fair share of tax revenues for educating the children of doctors at NUMC," she said. Gonsalves also noted that she secured funds for major road rehabilitation projects such as Newbridge Road and for Operation Downtown projects, such as the one in East Meadow. "There are now two more Operation Downtown projects in the working stages," she added.

"I am a prime sponsor of legislation to create an Open Space Fund," she said. "I have sponsored legislation for the protection of open space, namely, Sump 51, which is the third largest portion of the Hempstead Plains."

Gonsalves noted that some of her plans for the future include continuing to support the county executive's initiatives for the protection of open space, Operation Downtown projects and road improvement projects along the main corridors of the 13th district.

Other concerns she cited include "[making] sure the Unprotected Woodlands along the Meadowbrook Parkway are free from violation by those who choose to abuse them and to continue to work with the state, county and town agencies in assessing those concerns through the efforts of the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference."

She further noted that forming an inter-municipal agreement which would include governmental groups as well as environmental groups is a goal for the future.

Gonsalves said that she knows her constituency and is familiar with concerns of residents throughout the district.

"A commonality exists among the communities represented," she explained, noting, for example, that tax increases are of major concern to all residents throughout the district. "I have a working knowledge of the community and its concerns. The communities reach out to me for assistance with any and all problems to which I am most appreciative and grateful."

Overall, Gonsalves said she believes she is the best candidate for this position because she knows her constituency and has been involved with many major issues throughout her tenure.

"I have a working knowledge of government and many years of dedicated service in my community," she said. "I have 30 years of community service and civic activism. I have a proven track record. I am a dedicated public servant and as a full-time legislator will continue to give 100 percent."

Gonsalves serves on the Minority Affairs Committee and the Government Services and Operations Committee, the Planning, Development and the Environment Committee as well as the Health and Social Services Committee. She is the project director for Crime Watch and Civilian Patrol and serves as a delegate to CEMCO from the Wenwood Oaks Civic Association. She is a member of the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce; the Edward J. Speno Lodge #2578 and East Meadow Kiwanis. In addition, she is the founder and immediate past president of the Council of East Meadow Community Organizations (CEMCO). She is a former spokesperson for the Nassau County Correctional Facility Advisory Committee and a former member of the Town of Hempstead Solid Waste Advisory Committee. She also served as chairperson of the East Meadow Bicentennial Committee, former PTA Units president and PTA Council president and former UFT Executive Board Chapter member.

Gonsalves resides in East Meadow with her husband John. The couple has three children, twin grandsons and just recently another new grandson.

Hope Schwartz Zimmerman, a local attorney, is challenging Norma Gonsalves in this year's election to the 13th Legislative District. Zimmerman is running on the Democratic and Working Families party lines.

Zimmerman noted that above all else, her first priority is to get the county's finances in order.

"I think we need a leader in our district who will cooperate with the county executive to route out fraud, waste and corruption and to get our finances in order," she said. "I want to fix our financial mess."

Zimmerman, who works as a principal law clerk for the Hon. Elaine Jackson Stack in the Nassau County Supreme Court, said that she would like to see more programs available to the youth of the community. She further noted that maintaining current programs for youth and senior citizens is important. However, she said that none of that can be done until the county's budget is in order.

"We can't do anything else but concentrate on getting our finances in order. If we don't do that, youth programs, senior citizen programs - all the constituents that I've worked all my life for, which is family and children - we're just not going to be able to do anything for them until we solve this budget crisis. I'd like to see more services for youth, to have more places for them to congregate in a healthy and productive atmosphere. But we can't do any of that until we get our budget in order."

Zimmerman, who has never run for political office, said that she has the skills necessary to get the job done and believes she is the best candidate for the position because of her experiences.

"I have an independent mind," she said. "I have mediation skills which we need on the county legislature - we need people of disparate views to get together and I have excellent skills developed over almost 20 years as an attorney and before that as working in parent education. I know how to listen and bring people together."

Prior to her position at the Supreme Court, Zimmerman was a member of the firm of Jerry Winter PC where she practiced matrimonial and family law. She was also a member of Glass & Zimmerman PC where she practiced in the areas of commercial and bankruptcy reorganization law and worked with preschoolers in a program for the identification and remediation of pre-school handicapped children, which was funded by the NYS Department of Education, where she assisted parents to locate programs and services for children with developmental delays.

Zimmerman noted that she is very fond of the communities that make up the 13th District.

"I think the people are very hard working," she said. "This is really a very family oriented community."

The candidate is a member of the Family Law Guardians Advisory Committee, member of the New York Family Law American Inns of Court and liaison to the Academy of Law for the Bar Association of Nassau County. She has also participated on a number of legal committees and associations, including the Committee on Women in the Court (past chair); Long Range Planning Committee, Bar Association of Nassau County and Judiciary Committee Bar Association of Nassau County; past president of the Nassau County Women's Bar Association; present member of the Committee on Legislation and Former Delegate to the Women's Bar Association of NYS.

Zimmerman has also been involved in numerous community service organizations. She is the past co-chair of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Mothers' Centers, a founding member of Mothers' Center and she secured funding and developed programs and practices for the original center. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Directors Soroptimists International of Nassau County, a worldwide organization for women in business and the professions, working through service projects to advance human rights and the status of women. She is also a mentor to first-year law students at the Hofstra University School of Law and is a member of the Sierra Club, Yshar Chapter of Hadassah, Long Island Women's Agenda, American Civil Liberties Union and Larchmont Temple.

She earned a master of arts from New York University in 1970 and her juris doctor in 1986 from Hofstra University School of Law. The candidate is a resident of Westbury.