Politically active for the past 20 years, Republican Alan Skorski of West Hempstead said the 4th Congressional District needs new blood. A self-professed political and news junkie, Skorski said he's longed to take part in the process.

"I have always believed in what my parents taught me - what America has to offer each individual. I think the eight years of the Clinton administration really strengthened my resolve to get involved. We saw such divisiveness coming from our leaders; pitting rich against poor, African American against white, Gentile against Jew," Skorski said. "I always wanted to become a part of the process that helps people become better and help America become a better country. This is the best chance to do that."

While attending college in Michigan, his passion for political activism took shape. Today, he is the owner of a snack food wholesale distribution business. He and his wife, Noemi, have made New York's 4th C.D. their home for the past 11 years. They have three young daughters, ranging in age from 7 years to 9 months old.

He criticizes Democrat incumbent Carolyn McCarthy's record, claiming it's not very strong as far as what she's accomplished. "This is a district that is Republican and I think I can do a much more effective job for the people," he said. "I've always rejected the idea that she won because of sympathy. It may have been a component but what got her elected is the fact that she became passionate about an issue - gun control. I think voters respond to a candidate who has passion."

Skorski claims McCarthy has failed to touch on other issues affecting the 4th C.D. and the county as a whole. "Nassau is one of the highest taxed counties in the country. For six years McCarthy has never fought for tax cuts. It wasn't until President Bush kept his campaign promise to promote cuts that she finally jumped on the bandwagon," he said.

"Then after she jumped on the bandwagon she sent out brochures telling New Yorkers how she was one of 28 Democrats to support the cuts. But just last month there was another vote in Congress to keep tax cuts permanent and she voted against it ... I think she's tired. I think her heart may have been in the right place at one time but right now she doesn't know why she's there."

New blood is something Skorski believes he can bring to the table. "People tell me I'm a fresh look for their party and I may be just what the doctor ordered," he said. "I'm not tainted with anything we had in the past with Nassau County. I really think this is one race that a first-timer has a very legitimate shot."

Skorski is seeking the Republican, Conservative, Right to Life and Independence party lines and said he's even going to try the Green line.

Skorski believes the Democrat "patients' bill of rights" is the first step toward socialized medicine. "My concern is that until we address the needs of the doctor and the patient specifically we're not going to solve the problem. What I find to be a flaw with the patients' bill of rights is that it addresses the right to sue your HMOs," he said.

"I believe you have to give the power back to the doctors and patients. HMOs are flawed and I'm not defending them but if the only thing we're going to look at is who we can sue, we're not going to improve the quality of health care."

Skorski is also working very closely with an organization based in his hometown of West Hempstead called ADA, an advocacy group for the disabled. "The disabled have been ignored for a long time. Issues like health care, jobs, Social Security ... I have joined, as an associate, the ADA to bring their issues to the forefront," he said. "I was at an event recently, sponsored by the ADA, to support disabled children in foster care. It was heart wrenching. We want to make sure that the department responsible for helping the disabled doesn't get the Suozzi ax."

Skorski supports the voucher system. "The public school system has had tremendous problems and the Democrats have done nothing but propose more money," Skorski said. "Well if you don't have a plan for more money all you're doing is throwing more good after bad. My heart goes out to the kids in poor neighborhoods who are stuck in the same system.

"We've lost a generation. They're born poor or they're born into situations that they can't get out of and we have politicians whose kids go to the best schools so they can one day grow up and become politicians themselves, condemning a generation of poor kids to a life of misery. Democrats destroyed so many lives with their education policy," he said.

He'd promote home schooling. "There is a program that's been pushed forth by Empower America, an online educational system," he said. "I'd be all for taking certain neighborhoods or even districts, as an experiment, getting them some type of grant to take the online education system just to see where it takes them. You can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and think you'll get different results."

With regard to what Skorski describes as his opponent's "landmark issue," he supports the rights of law-abiding citizens, as guaranteed by the constitution, to possess firearms for self-defense and sport provided they pass a thorough criminal and mental health background check under current guidelines.

"My support for background checks exists only if caution is taken to exclude any possible misuse of this system to create national registration, which could potentially lead to confiscation," he said. "I believe in and will fight for mandatory sentencing, with zero tolerance guidelines, for any person using a firearm in the commission of a crime."

Every American in the workforce should be able to keep more of their income instead of sending it to the government, Skorski said. "The government, which has a history of wasting billions of our hard-earned dollars, should not be permitted to further control our money."

Skorski believes the economy's success depends on the entreprenurial spirit. "I plan on promoting that as an issue as well as tax cut initiatives and creating more empowerment zones. Small business ownership is very important because it's the engine that drives the economy."

"I have a pro-life ideology," Skorski said. "President Bush and John Ashcroft are the only two people who can influence the abortion laws on a national level. They've both said they're not going to overturn Roe v. Wade. Since Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, I'm not going to spend my energy on something I have no effect on."

Instead, Skorski wants to promote adoption as a viable option. "We could help mothers financially and carry the baby to term and then promote adoption, this way you're not terminating the pregnancy," he said. "I think it's so important to re-educate this country. We've gone so far off in our lack of respect for the sanctity of human life that I want to focus more time and education on what the unborn child really is. If we educate people we'll have fewer abortions. President Bush said not to focus on changing laws but focus on changing people's minds and hearts. I think if you do that, people on their own will look for alternatives to abortion."

"My parents came here from Europe but I think back then immigrants came here with the attitude of becoming American. Right now that attitude has changed. I do believe we need a moratorium and we need stronger security checks of who's coming to this country. I really do not believe we should let anyone in until Tom Ridge [head of Homeland Security] has his program 100 percent in place. It's just too dangerous," he said. "We have much to settle right now before we open our doors to any more problems. We have to fix the problems we have here now and we're nowhere near the end of it. I think what happened at Los Angeles Airport is just a small tip of the iceberg."

"I began my career as a pro-Israel activist. I think Bush is the first president who really gets it and I have never been more comfortable as a supporter of Israel as I am now knowing that President Bush and most members of his cabinet know how to deal with the issue," he said.

"You cannot reward terrorism. There's a lot more to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict than Yasir Arafat. It's about the entire region's Islamic jihad mindset that cannot accept the presence of a Jewish Zionist Infidel state in their midst. If they're coming to destroy America and we're far away from them what are they going to try and do to Israel who's right in their backyard?"