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Nadler won his seat after incumbent Ted Weiss died on the eve of the Democratic primary. The late Weiss still won the primary, leaving it to party leaders to choose a new nominee. They tapped Nadler, who then swept the general election with 81% of the vote. He has fought to help restore Brooklyn's waterfront and introduced the Mothers and Infants Good Health Act, which ensures mothers a minimum 48-hour hospital stay after delivery.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES 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 must restore New York's port, rebuild its decaying infrastructure and complete the missing links in its freight-distribution network...if New York is to prosper."
CHARLES E. SCHUMER (D) District 9 (Parts of Brooklyn and Queens--Sheepshead Bay; Forest Hills)
BORN: Nov. 23, 1950, Brooklyn EDUCATION: Harvard U, B.A., 1971, J.D., 1974 FAMILY: Wife, Iris Weinshall; two children RELIGION: Jewish MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Lawyer POLITICAL CAREER: New York Assembly, 1975-80; U.S. House, 1980- ADDRESS: 432 Park Avenue South, Suite 1206, New York 10016. Tel.: 212-696-9308
A ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Schumer is a bad word to NRA lobbyists: he was a fierce sponsor of the assault-weapons ban and the Brady Bill, which mandates a five-day waiting period before buying a handgun. He also sponsored a law making it illegal to obstruct access to abortion clinics, a popular move in the liberal Ninth. By no means camera shy, Schumer may be setting himself up to bid for New York's governorship in 1998.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES 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: "The pro-gun arguments...are as flaky as the arguments of the tiny few who still insist that the earth is flat."
ROBERT VERGA (R) District 9
BORN: Nov. 25, 1965, Rockville Center EDUCATION: Georgetown U, B.S., 1987; Fordham U, J.D., 1993 FAMILY: Single RELIGION: Roman Catholic MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Bank executive, lawyer POLITICAL CAREER: None ADDRESS: 68-30 Myrtle Avenue, Glendale 11385. Tel.: 718-386-2993
Verga, another nonpolitician diving into politics, says he's a fed-up citizen who wants to see new leadership and accountability in government. In classic Republican fashion, he attacks the liberal Schumer as a "tax-and-spend" lawmaker, and in a mostly white, middle-class Brooklyn and Queens district surrounded by encroaching inner-city slums, he points out that high taxes have not helped to combat drugs, unsafe streets and an unraveling school system.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES Abortion YES Guns YES Gays NO Bosnia YES NAFTA YES Welfare YES Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "We need to view ourselves as owners of the government. We are paying record sums of money to the government, and yet we are not getting anything for it."
AMELIA SMITH-PARKER (R) District 10 (Parts of Brooklyn--Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Heights)