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THE ISSUES
Budget YES Medicare YES Defense NO Abortion NR Guns YES Gays YES Bosnia YES NAFTA YES Welfare YES Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "After I came here from Cuba, there were times when the money was not so good, believe me. But I did not go on welfare, I worked."
THOMAS MANTON (D) District 7
BORN: Nov. 3, 1932, New York City EDUCATION: St. John's U, B.B.A., 1958, LL.B., 1962 FAMILY: Wife, Diane; four children RELIGION: Roman Catholic MILITARY: Marines, 1951-53 OCCUPATION: Lawyer POLITICAL CAREER: New York city council, 1970-84; U.S. House, 1984- ADDRESS: 46-12 Queens Boulevard, Suite 211, Sunnyside 11104. Tel.: 718-706-6390
Though Astoria, Queens, was home to the xenophobic Archie Bunker on All in the Family, Manton's is one of the most racially inclusive districts in the U.S. Consequently, the six-term incumbent's interests are diverse, including legislation to encourage U.S. companies to invest in India, to test convicted rape offenders for HIV, and to include taggants in gunpowder to help trace explosives. This middle-class, urban area leans Democratic, and Manton held onto his seat in 1994 by an overwhelming 74%.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense NO Abortion YES Guns YES Gays YES Bosnia NO NAFTA NO Welfare NO* Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "An elevated police presence is one of the first and most obvious ways to combat crime...Enacting laws that call for tougher sentences against criminals is another."
MICHAEL BENJAMIN (R) District 8 (West Side of Manhattan; parts of southwest Brooklyn)
BORN: Nov. 1, 1969, New York City EDUCATION: New York U, B.A., 1992 FAMILY: Single RELIGION: Jewish MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Financial-software executive; investment banker POLITICAL CAREER: None ADDRESS: 90 John Street, 14th Floor, New York 10038. Tel.: 212-292-2620
Benjamin, a former investment banker, founded the New York Benevolence Council, a nonprofit group that assists disadvantaged New Yorkers. The self-described "centrist Republican" is pro-choice and anti-death penalty; he also favors a flat 17% income tax and tough sentences for criminals with the "three strikes" rule and "truth in sentencing" legislation to require convicts to serve at least 85% of their jail time. But this newcomer needs an upset to win where Clinton got 60% of the vote in 1992.
THE ISSUES
Budget YES Medicare NO Defense NO Abortion NO Guns YES Gays YES Bosnia NO NAFTA YES Welfare YES Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "Products and services thrive in competitive environments; why not introduce competition into education [through school-choice legislation]?"
JERROLD NADLER (D) District 8
BORN: June 13, 1947, Brooklyn EDUCATION: Columbia U, A.B., 1969; Fordham U, J.D., 1978 FAMILY: Wife, Joyce Miller; one child RELIGION: Jewish MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: State official; lawyer POLITICAL CAREER: New York Assembly, 1977-92; U.S. House, 1992- ADDRESS: 379 West Broadway, Suite 305, New York 10012. Tel.: 212-925-7581