Democrat Graham Long, a 25-year-old politico from Locust Valley, is challenging eight-term U.S. Rep. Peter King, a Republican from Seaford, in the 3rd Congressional District.
King, a fiscal conservative and staunch supporter of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, did not return calls requesting an interview.
Long is a former White House intern who now works as an urban planner for Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi. Long decided to run for Congress, he said, because he believes he has a shot at winning in a year when Democrats stand to pick up seats in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.
"To me," Long said, "this is the year of big change. In Congress, we need some representatives to change."
King voted for the federal government's recent $700 billion bailout of the banking industry, as did his four Democratic congressional colleagues from Long Island. The lawmakers issued a joint statement after Congress voted on the bailout package. "Supporting this legislation was not an easy decision," the statement read. "The impact of the economic crisis is being felt by more and more families, and Long Island's economy is perilously close to reaching a tipping point."
Long chastised their decision. "The bailout," he said, "is like putting a Band-Aid on a broken bone." He said that, if elected, he would work to restore regulations that kept banks smaller and more local. The trouble began, he said, when banks became conglomerates, with vast holdings that were imperiled by corporate greed.
As a backbone of his economic plan, Long said he would work to make America energy-independent by increasing the nation's use of alternative energy, such as wind and solar. He believes the country needs an infrastructure improvement plan, with the government paying much of the bill, as it did under President Franklin Roosevelt's administration. The government's infrastructure spending back then, he said, helped bring the country out of the Great Depression. In particular, Long said, the highways and rail systems currently need upgrading.
"Our government needs to step up and set some goals where we want to be," he said.
The challenger said that the trouble with the Bush administration's Iraq policy is that it does not spell out precisely what "victory" means. He said he favors the 16-month withdrawal plan proposed by Sen. Barack Obama.
Long earned a degree in American studies, with a focus on urban planning, from The Washington University. In high school he served as an intern for U.S Rep. Gary Ackerman, a Democrat from Roslyn Heights. Immediately after college, he worked briefly in his family's catering business. Long has attended both Republican and Democratic presidential conventions, and volunteered for a number of political campaigns. He registered as a Democrat in 2006.
King is the ranking member of the House's Homeland Security Committee and a member of the Financial Services Committee. Before he was elected to Congress, he served three terms as the Nassau County comptroller and on the Hempstead Town Council. He graduated from St. Francis College in Brooklyn and the University of Notre Dame Law School.
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