Peter Schmitt, of Massapequa, who has been serving as the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Legislature, has defeated Carl Lowe of Massapequa Park, in a race for the 12th Legislative District of Nassau County.

In what was inarguably one of the most difficult campaigns for Republicans, who after this election are no longer in the majority, Schmitt, who was running on the Republican, Independence, Conservative and Right to Life Party lines, won the election by over 1,500 votes. In the unofficial results from the Nassau County Board of Elections, Schmitt had 6,931 votes to Lowe's 5,247 votes.

Schmitt has served in the county Legislature since its inception on Jan. 1, 1996 and has been involved in many different projects in his community and the county, including road improvement projects and Operation Downtown.

In a time when county finances were a focal point in the campaign season, Schmitt pointed to his efforts to cut county spending. Without his efforts, according to Schmitt in an interview prior to his re-election, the county would be in an even worse financial situation. At that time, he noted that the Legislature would, after the election, have to take a much more active role in monitoring the day-to-day operations of the county to ensure that the county comes out of its fiscal problems and does not slip back into the same problems.

When asked how he feels about his re-election, Schmitt responded, "I feel terrific. It's very gratifying to have the people of the 12th Legislative District realize the job that I've been able to do for them and to give me their blessing to continue for another two years."

Schmitt feels that the voters have recognized how hard he has worked for them and that contributed to his successful campaign. He added that throughout his years in the Legislature he has been very accessible to his constituents and that he has worked hard to maintain a constituent-oriented office. "I think the infrastructure of improvements that I've brought to the district have been favorably looked upon and in what turned out to be a very difficult year, county-wide for the Republicans, I'm very pleased that the residents of the Massapequas were discerning enough to see through the campaign rhetoric and to reward me for a job well done," added Schmitt.

According to Schmitt, he has been in government and politics for almost 30 years, and this year's campaign was one of the most difficult he has encountered. "I've been in government politics, for almost 30 years," said Schmitt, "and this was a definite message from the county-wide voters, on the county's fiscal situation." He added that he believes this message from the voters was intended for County Executive Thomas Gulotta, but unfortunately he was not on the ballot this year.

Now that they are in the majority Schmitt would like to see all the campaign promises that the Democrats made come to fruition. "We stand ready to assist them in a bi-partisan fashion if they are serious and to point out their shortcomings if they're not," Schmitt said.

The newly re-elected legislator concluded, "I'm very happy and I thank the people of the 12th Legislative District for their confidence and I will continue to be available to them and to work for them to keep Massapequa a great place to live."