From Mineola Village Hall to Capitol Hill? That's the journey that Mineola Mayor Jack M. Martins hopes to take this November after he became the Republican Party's choice to take on Carolyn McCarthy for the 4th Congressional District, which encompasses Baldwin, East Meadow, East Rockaway, Elmont, the Five Towns, Lynbrook, Floral Park, Franklin Square, Garden City, Hempstead, Mineola, New Hyde Park, Oceanside, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, Uniondale, Valley Stream and Westbury.

At the Nassau Republican nominating convention in Levittown last week, Mineola Republican executive leader Jackie Carway made the nomination.

Martins, a lifelong resident of Mineola, has been mayor of the village since 2003. Among his proudest accomplishments in Mineola are making village government more transparent by televising village meetings on a public access channel, instituting a debt management plan to reduce Mineola's debt and putting forth balanced budgets.

Although Martins' accomplishments have made a name for him in Mineola, his challenge will be to get residents of the other communities in the district to know him.

Martins faces an uphill battle, having to take on McCarthy, who was first elected to Congress in 1996. She went to Congress to fight for better gun control laws after her husband was murdered and her son was wounded in the Long Island Railroad Massacre in December 1993. She was re-elected again in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006.

One issue that is sure to be talked about is the proposal for a Long Island Rail Road third track, which would run through the 4th Congressional District.

Martins serves as the chairman of the Third Track Advisory Board Committee and has questioned the need for a third track. He has maintained that the Long Island Rail Road has not shown a legitimate need for the track. A few months back, petitions asking McCarthy to oppose the third track were delivered to the Congresswoman's office in Garden City asking her to oppose the third track project. McCarthy has maintained that she would not take a position until the final plan is released.

As far as taking on Martins this coming November, McCarthy said, "I am looking forward to a healthy conversation on the issues throughout the upcoming election. I am very proud of my record and the work that I have done for the families of the 4th Congressional District. I have a strong record of delivering for the district and I work hard on the issues that are important to Nassau County residents."

Since this is also the year of a presidential election, other issues that will become the focus of federal elections are the war in Iraq, the economy, healthcare and the price of gasoline.

Although Martins will try to overcome the odds of defeating McCarthy, he relishes the role of being the underdog.

The Nassau GOP nominated Plandome Mayor Barbara Donno to run against Democrat Craig Johnson in the 7th Senate District. "What we see in Albany makes us all angry," Donno said. "As a mom and former elementary school teacher, some of the things I see in Albany - from both parties - makes you think some of them would benefit from a time-out. It's time the families of the 7th Senate District once again have someone willing to fight for all of us and to fight for what's right."

Said a spokesperson for Johnson, "Craig Johnson has always worked hard for the people of Nassau County. We welcome Ms. Donno to the race and look forward to a spirited contest and a vigorous discussion of the future direction of our state."

The Nassau GOP also nominated incumbent Assemblyman Tom McKevitt to run for his seat in the 17th Assembly District.