New York State Assemblyman Tom Alfano relates election day to the day report cards come out in schools. Whether he gets good marks or not will be evident in whether residents of the 22nd Assembly district, which encompasses, among other areas, Elmont, Franklin Square and West Hempstead, vote to re-elect him.

Alfano, who has been endorsed by the Republican, Conservative and Independence parties, wants to be judged by his record, something, he said, he is proud of. Since his election to the New York State Assembly in 1996, Alfano said he has fought for state aid to fund education, new health care programs such as Family Health Plus for the uninsured, bias crime legislation, and expanded prescription drug coverage for seniors through the EPIC Plus program. The assemblyman also said he has been concerned with environmental conservation since he was an early supporter of the pesticide notification bill, raising the minimum wage and saving rent control for poor working families and seniors.

"My work within the district, I think, is quite visible," he said.

With his four years experience in the assembly, Alfano feels he has developed into a leader with the assembly. Last year, he was named vice chairman of the Assembly Minority Joint Conference Committee and is the ranking Republican member of the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee. Also, earlier this year, Alfano was named by his colleagues to serve on the State Legislative Budget Conference Committee. He has also sat on the Transportation, Environmental Conservation and Housing Committee. Alfano said one of his proudest accomplishments was leading a successful fight to restore Long Island bus cuts to routes in the Elmont, North Valley Stream, Franklin Square and West Hempstead communities. "It would have inordinately affected the people of the 22nd Assembly district," he said. "The Hempstead Turnpike route is one of the most frequently used."

An advocate of education, Alfano said he has developed strong bonds with area schools and is proud that he has helped secure record amounts of state aid to fund education. "I consider myself to be their partner in the efforts for the children to achieve within the new Regents standards," he added. "It lightens the burden [on the taxpayers] to an extent and we fought hard and we were able to continue the STAR program, which is the biggest tax relief program in the history of New York State for people, especially senior citizens."

Within the Elmont Union Free School District, Alfano has developed a close working relationship with superintendent of schools, Dr. Maria Palandra, and has been able to secure various grants for the district. Alfano has frequently visited the elementary schools in Elmont to speak with children and has sponsored reading and math tutorial programs within local districts. "These children, at a young age, realize that I'm their friend and I'm there for them. They can approach me," he said. "Too many people in our country are either turned off by government or intimidated by it. That unfortunately leads to apathy and being disgruntled as opposed to trying to get involved to make things better. If we empower a whole generation of children, it can only enhance our community and country."

Because he believes in giving children a strong education, Alfano said he has attained grants for cultural programming, anti-gang and anti-violence speakers, operation clean-sweep co-op, new playground equipment, new cultural immersion programming and in-school reading assistance programs.

Another issue that Alfano feels is important is supporting organizations that serve the communities such as Gateway Youth Outreach (GYO), an organization that helps provide tutorials and after school programs so children can continue to learn after school. Recently, according to the assemblyman, Alfano teamed with state officials, his state senate colleagues and GYO in attaining a state grant for $125,000 for the organization's acitivities in the 22nd Assembly district.

On the college education level, Alfano expressed his satisfaction over the fact that college tuition in the state has become tax deductible. "This is something that has never been done before and there's no income limits, which is important. It doesn't limit where you can go to school," he said.

Alfano also prides himself on being tough on crime since he feels crime is a bipartisan issue. When the Hate Crimes Bill came to the assembly floor, Alfano said he broke with party ranks and supported the measure. Recently, he supported New York State Governor George Pataki's gun safety measures, which the governor recently signed into law.