In local elections affecting the communities of Elmont, Franklin Square and West Hempstead, the voters spoke and the majority chose to re-elect incumbents in Congress, the Senate and the Assembly.

In a race in the 4th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Carolyn McCarthy defeated Republican challenger Greg Becker. The two met in 1998 when McCarthy defeated Becker by a 90,256 to 79,984 margin.

In this election, McCarthy defeated Becker by an unofficial tally of 128,484 to 83,469. McCarthy was therefore elected to her third consecutive term in Congress.

Originally known for her advocacy on gun violence, McCarthy has since become involved in many other important issues such as prescription drugs and environmental research as it pertains to the high breast cancer and prostate cancer rates on Long Island.

In the area of gun safety, McCarthy was pleased to see a series of gun safety measures recently become law in New York State. McCarthy said she would work for similar measures on the federal level. McCarthy also said she would work on the federal level to lower taxes. Among the things that McCarthy has recently done in this effort was voting to eliminate the Marriage Penalty Tax and the Estate/Death Tax.

McCarthy also supported the increase in what senior citizens receiving Social Security were able to earn as an income.

One issue McCarthy was criticized for during the campaign was partial birth abortion. McCarthy voted against the ban because, she said, it didn't take into consideration situations where a woman's health or life may be in jeopardy.

"It was a wonderful victory. It was great teamwork. I'm thrilled the voters of Nassau County returned me to Congress and I will continue fighting for the issues that matter most to us. I'm also excited the residents believe in me," McCarthy said after the election.

In the 7th Senate District, incumbent Republican Mike Balboni once again defeated Democratic challenger Jon Brooks by an unofficial vote of 59,192 to 48,202. Balboni will serve a third term in the New York State Senate.

Balboni cited the ban on the gasoline additive MTBE by 2004 to help protect the environment, making college tuition up to $10,000 per year tax deductible and the passing of Family Health Plus, Child Health Plus and the Elderly Prescription Drug Coverage plan as major initiatives that were recently accomplished in the senate.

Balboni also has been an advocate for education and has run campaigns aimed at discouraging smoking among students.

In the 22nd Assembly District, Tom Alfano retained his seat in the New York State Assembly, defeating Vincent Raimo by an unofficial total of 24,582 to 16,207 margin. Alfano, who was first elected to the assembly in 1996, prides himself on being an advocate of education. He is a frequent visitor to the public schools in his district, particularly in Elmont. "I really feel that I've been there for Elmont, whether it was Gateway Youth Outreach or the Elmont schools," he said.

Among some of the accomplishments Alfano is proud of is continuing the STAR program, a tax relief program for people of New York State, mostly senior citizens, and securing record amounts of state aid to fund education. Alfano was also proud of his support of Family Health Plus, Child Health Plus and the EPIC Plus programs.

Alfano posted large wins in Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Floral Park, Malverne and North Valley Stream. "This is a tremendous show of support and I want to thank everyone for their vote of confidence. The voters said yes to my priorities for education and health care," he said.

In an interesting race for the Town of Hemsptead Board, six councilmanic districts were formed with an election in each. Democrat N. Scott Banks of West Hemsptead and Republican Joe Kearney of Garden City faced off in the race for the 2nd councilmanic district. Both candidates in this race were incumbents. However, Kearney defeated Banks by a 27,193 to 18,413 margin to remain on the board.

"We worked hard. A lot of people pitched in and helped in getting the message out. I think the people in the district heard it, understood it and accepted it," Kearney said.

Councilman Kearney said he now looks forward to continuing his work on the Hempstead Town Board that began over a decade ago.

In other races, Dorothy Goosby retained her seat on the board, winning in the 1st councilmanic district; James Darcy won in the 3rd councilmanic district; Anthony Santino retained his seat on the board, winning in the 4th councilmanic district; Angelina Cullin won in the 5th councilmanic district and Gary Hudes won in the 6th councilmanic district.

The Hempstead Town Board is now comprised of five Republicans and one Democrat, Goosby, as well as Supervisor Richard Guardino, who is a Republican.

"One of the messages we tried to convey in the election this year was that the town is extremely well run. It's fiscally sound and it's providing good services," Kearney said. "My feeling is that the people of the Town of Hempstead are pleased and satisfied with the way the town is being run."

Renovating and upgrading parks, protecting the environment and encouraging senior citizens to stay through senior housing are among Kearney's goals for the future.