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McCarthy's decision to run resulted from two events: her husband's murder in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road massacre and Representative Daniel Frisa's 1995 vote to repeal the assault-weapons ban. A lifelong Republican, she switched parties, announced her candidacy and immediately became a celebrity challenger--she spoke at this summer's Democratic National Convention and has received generous party support. Though Frisa has dismissed McCarthy as a one-issue candidate, he knows better than to ignore the gritty widow's challenge.
THE ISSUES
Budget NR Medicare NR Defense NR Abortion NR Guns NR Gays NR Bosnia NR NAFTA NR Welfare NR Medical Leave NR (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "I have been a nurse, and I was always there for my patients...Politics is the same thing. You are hired to do a job, and your personal opinion doesn't count very much. It's what your constituency wants."
GARY ACKERMAN (D) District 5 (Northeast Queens; northern Nassau and Suffolk counties)
BORN: Nov. 19, 1942, Brooklyn EDUCATION: Queens College, B.A., 1965 FAMILY: Wife, Rita; three children RELIGION: Jewish MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Teacher; publisher and editor; advertising executive POLITICAL CAREER: New York Senate, 1979-83; U.S. House, 1983- ADDRESS: P.O. Box 95, Fresh Meadows 11365. Tel.: 516-829-2323
Ackerman is known for his searing wit, plump figure and distinctive residence (he lives on a houseboat on the Potomac named Unsinkable II--after Unsinkable I, which sank). He sits on the International Relations Committee, and pays a great deal of attention to foreign policy. This summer, the otherwise liberal Ackerman introduced a controversial bipartisan bill to require states to test newborns for HIV if their mothers had not been tested while pregnant.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense NO Abortion NO Guns YES Gays NO Bosnia NO NAFTA NO Welfare NO Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "We have to show Americans that Democrats are willing to break with the past, to move from welfare to workfare."
GRANT LALLY (R) District 5
BORN: Jan. 8, 1962, New York City EDUCATION: Johns Hopkins U, B.A., 1983; Boston U, J.D., 1986; Georgetown U, L.L.M., 1989 FAMILY: Single RELIGION: Protestant MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Lawyer; manufacturing executive POLITICAL CAREER: Republican nominee for U.S. House, 1994 ADDRESS: 220 Old Country Road, Mineola 11501. Tel.: 516-741-2666
The verbal melee that enveloped the 1994 contest between Lally and Gary Ackerman has, if anything, intensified this year. Calling his opponent a "corrupt, radical liberal," Lally emphasizes his own outsider status as a businessman (he once owned a company that made celebrity statuary). Although many of his proposals--like reducing taxes and pruning back the government--mirror the Contract with America, he has distanced himself from the G.O.P.'s more conservative fringe.
THE ISSUES Budget YES Medicare YES Defense NO Abortion YES Guns NO Gays YES Bosnia YES NAFTA YES Welfare YES Medical Leave NO (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)