New York State Assemblywoman Donna Ferrara is running for her sixth term in the newly reapportioned 15th Assembly District (A.D.). She was first elected in 1992 and is running this year on the Republican, Conservative, Independent and Working Families lines.

Ferrara, a resident of Westbury, is an attorney who received a bachelor's degree in English and business from the State University of New York at Albany and a doctorate from St. John's University School of Law. She began her career as a legislative aide for the late Senator Norman Levy in Albany and, upon admission to the New York State Bar, served as a legislative counsel to Senator Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City).

Over the years, Ferrara has served as a deputy town attorney for the Town of Hempstead where she was the town's Freedom of Information Officer as well as counsel to both the Map Committee and to the Department of Planning and Economic development. She also represented the Town of Hempstead in foreclosure actions, bankruptcies, acquisition and sale of real property.

Ferrara is currently chair of the Joint Conference Committee, Ranking Minority Member of the Insurance Committee and the Libraries and Education Technology Committee as well as a member of the Banks Committee and the Tourism, Arts and Sports Development Committee. She is also a member of the New York State and Nassau County Bar Association and the board of directors of the Adelphi New York Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline and Support Program.

In her first legislative term, Ferrara created statewide legislation prohibiting discrimination by insurance companies against breast cancer victims. This August, her proposed bill to improve breast cancer detection rates was signed into law by both houses. The law will pave the way for insurance coverage of the Computer Aided Detection (CAD) system to be used as part of routine mammograms and covered by insurance providers in New York State.

"I am pleased that passage of this bill will help encourage widespread use of CAD and provide patients with the most advanced breast cancer screening available," she said. "Until a cure is uncovered, our only weapon against breast cancer is early detection and screening," said Ferrara. "On Long Island, where one out of every eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, this disease affects far too many families to allow enhanced screening tools to go unused."

A strong advocate for women's issues and senior citizens, Ferrara has also been a proponent of Child Health PLUS and the EPIC Pharmaceutical Program which helps seniors with their prescriptions. "The seniors have contributed to the community for so long and they are on fixed incomes," she said. "We need to do all we can to continue helping them so they can stay here."

At the state level, Ferrara said her main issue is car insurance rates. "New York has the second highest auto insurance rates in the country, behind New Jersey, and if we don't do something we are going to be number one. The reason behind that is fraud." In order to reduce fraudulent accident claims in the state, Ferrara said the Assembly and the Senate need to come to an agreement on how to deal with the criminal. "The Assembly proposal calls for the [crime] to be considered a misdemeanor, which is usually just a slap on the wrist and usually bargained down to a violation," she said. "The Senate wants to make it a felony crime to deter other people." Ferrara added that she is hoping the issue will be addressed in either a special session this year or regular session next year.

If re-elected, Ferrara said she would like to see the way voting is done in the Assembly changed. "The way it is now, once you card in, you could leave, go on vacation or anywhere you want, as long as you want to be recorded as a yes vote," she said. "There are not a lot of people sitting in the Assembly during a vote because the way things are now, you don't have to be present for a vote. It's ridiculous and it's an abuse. I feel that it is very important that people be present for votes."

In addition, Ferrara would like to work toward having the state budget completed in a more timely fashion. She also believes that Assembly members should have a chance to review the budget prior to the vote. "Generally, the budget is about 1,000 pages and we don't get to see it any sooner than the public," she said. "I feel we should have some sort of viewing time, whether it is eight hours or 12 hours or 24 hours, to look it over. How can you possibly know what's in 1,000 pages? They try to brief us, bring us into a conference and tell us what's in because they don't want us voting blindly, but you can't cover 1,000 pages in a half-hour or an hour."

On a local level, one of the issues Ferrara said she is concerned with is the Underhill property located on the northeast border of her district. "I think it is a big issue in the whole district about conserving open space for generations to come," she said. "Preservation is very important. I have gone on record stating that I would like to see the Underhill property preserved. Nassau is starting to look like Queens and I don't like that look. I like more parks and green areas and places to go with your family."

As a politician, Ferrara is proud to consider herself one of the most moderate Republicans in the Assembly. "Because I have such moderate views, I am able to bring a different angle, a different insight into various issues," she said. "I think that has been very helpful." As a result, she would like to see Albany become more bipartisan. "When I first started, 1993 was my first session and it was less partisan," she said. Each year it becomes more and more partisan. Republicans are generally never permitted to go on bills. They keep us very separated and I don't think that's good for the institution."

Due to new state legislative district boundaries released earlier this year by the Joint Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, Long Island's Assembly delegation was reduced from 22 to 21 seats, granting the remaining seat to New York City. As a result, the 14th A.D., which currently falls under the jurisdiction of Assemblyman Marc Herbst, was eliminated and the 15th A.D. was increased.

The 15th A.D. is currently comprised of 40 election districts and communities within the Town of Hempstead, Town of North Hempstead and Town of Oyster Bay. The district will now include Locust Valley, Hicksville, Oyster Bay, Glen Head, Mill Neck, East Norwich and Glenwood Landing as well as parts of Jericho, Syosset, Bethpage, Old Westbury, Westbury and East Meadow.

While the district gained all of Hicksville, it lost North Bellmore, Levittown, the Brookvilles, East Hills, Matinecock, Mineola, Muttontown, North Bellmore, North Merrick, Oyster Bay Cove, Roslyn Harbor, Sea Cliff, North Wantagh and Woodbury. The change also splits Westbury between the 15th A.D. and 17th A.D. and New Cassel between the 15th A.D. and 13th A.D. In addition, the change leaves East Meadow split among the 15th A.D., 17th A.D. and 19th A.D.

Also included in the 17th A.D. are the communities of Carle Place, New Hyde Park, Garden City Park, Garden City South, Garden City, Mineola, Albertson, Williston Park, East Williston, Uniondale, North Merrick, North Bellmore, Merrick and Roosevelt.

The 17th A.D currently falls under the jurisdiction of Assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell, the 13th A.D. under Assemblyman David Sidikman and the 19th A.D. under Assemblyman David G. McDonough.