In the elections held last Tuesday, Nov. 7, local voters re-elected all incumbents in the Assembly, State Senate and congressional races.

Assembly members Donna Ferrara, Maureen O'Connell, and David Sidikman, and State Senators Michael Balboni and Kemp Hannon, were returned, as was Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy.

The Republican state lawmakers were returned despite an expected voter backlash against Republican incumbents, due to the public's anger over the ongoing Nassau County fiscal crisis under the Republican County Executive Thomas Gulotta. In the midst of this political climate, the GOP candidates had campaigned diligently on their accomplishments in office, and were re-elected, most of them with wide margins of victory.

For example, Ferrara had gotten out a message about legislation she pushed for in the areas of breast cancer patients rights and consumer protection. "I am very proud of the campaign. I worked very hard and I thought we had a great message, and I'm pleased with the victory," she commented last week, following word of her re-election.

In the 15th Assembly District, which includes Westbury and Old Westbury, as well as East Meadow and much of the Gold Coast area of the Town of Oyster Bay, Republican Ferrara garnered 62 percent of the vote, with 27,546 votes. Her Democratic opponent, Darlene Sigalow, received 15,633 votes, while Catherine Malone, who ran on the Right to Life line, received 1,035 votes.

In the 17th Assembly District, Republican O'Connell won 63 percent of the vote, with 26,954 supporting her and 15,441 voting for her Democratic opponent Emil Samuels. Green Party candidate Elizabeth Henley received 333 votes. The 17th district includes Carle Place, as well as such surrounding communities as Mineola, Garden City and Uniondale.

Democrat Sidikman, assemblyman in the 13th District, which includes New Cassel, as well as Plainview and such Gold Coast communities as Oyster Bay, Bayville, and Laurel Hollow, defeated Republican challenger Neil Bergin with 65 percent of the vote. Sidikman received 28,457 votes, as compared to Bergin's 14,729. Liberal Party candidate Dereck Johnson and Green Party candidate Jeffrey Peress received 363 and 313 votes, respectively.

In the 7th State Senate District, which encompasses all of the Town of North Hempstead, including Carle Place, Old Westbury, Westbury and New Cassel, as well as Floral Park in the Town of Hempstead, Balboni received 54 percent of the vote. His votes totalled 59,192, while his Democratic opponent, Jon Brooks, gathered 48,202. Right to Life candidate Joseph P. Cascio received 2,019 votes.

Republican Senator Hannon, whose 6th District includes Salisbury, as well as such other communities as Uniondale, Levittown, North Massapequa, Farmingdale and Plainview, won with 52 percent of the vote. He had 51,918 supporters, compared to 44,526 for his Democratic opponent, Mark Keefe. Third party candidates Brian Evans, running on the Liberal Party line, and Paul Callahan, the Right to Life candidate, received 607 and 2,573 votes, respectively.

The popularity of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy also was evident in this year's election. With 60 percent of the vote, she won by a comfortable margin in the 4th Congressional District, which includes much of the Town of Hempstead and areas of North Hempstead, and stretches from as far southwest as Atlantic Beach, and as far northeast as the New Cassel area of Westbury. She garnered 128,484 votes. McCarthy's Republican opponent, Gregory Becker, who also unsuccessfully challenged her two years ago, received 83,469 votes. Barbara Vitanza, who ran on the Right to Life line, received 1,109 votes.