Voter's Guide 2010: The Candidates

Here is a final summary of the major party candidates for 2010 Election Day on Nov. 2.

New York State Governor:

D  – Andrew Cuomo  – As New York Attorney General, Cuomo investigated the state pension fund, the student loan industry and Wall Street corruption. As governor, Cuomo says he will consolidate state government and focus on revitalizing New York by bringing in new jobs. Republican opponent Carl Paladino and others blame Cuomo's expansion of mortgage loans when he was secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Clinton for fueling the housing crisis.

R  – Carl Paladino  – Paladino defeated Rick Lazio and pushed out Suffolk County's own Steve Levy for the Republican nomination. The focus of Paladino's campaign is overhaul in Albany. He says he plans to declare a fiscal state of emergency and will cut the state budget by 10 to 20 percent by freezing compensation of state employees, among other budget trimming measures. Paladino, a lawyer and businessman from Buffalo, has faced controversy during the campaign, accused of sending explicit e-mails and making offensive statements towards the homosexual community.

U.S. Senate:

D - Sen. Charles Schumer - Schumer, New York's senior senator, was elected in 1998. Prior to being elected Senator, Schumer spent nearly 20 years in the House of Representatives. His voting record includes support for measures that discourage offshoring of American jobs, the creation of the Small Business Lending Fund Program, and the health care public option (which he drafted).

R - Jay Townsend - Townsend is a businessman who formed The Townsend Group, an advertising agency based in Orange County, in 1993. He has lashed out against what he has called "the Obama spending spree" and has been an outspoken critic of the recent health care plan supported by Schumer. If elected, Townsend has said he plans to vote to repeal it.

U.S. Senate:

D - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand - Gillibrand says job creation and economic development are her highest priorities. She voted in February to support the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and supported measures that provide tax cuts for middle class families. She also believes in increased access to healthcare, controlling medical costs, and she supported the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the so-called public healthcare option.

R - Joseph DioGuardi - DioGuardi believes government spending is out of control and is running on a platform of fiscal responsibility and budget reform. He also supports increased access to healthcare and controlling medical costs, but does not believe it should be legislated. Instead he believes that it should be accomplished within the private sector.

Attorney General

Eric T. Schneiderman (D), Democrat, Working Families party lines – Schneiderman received his Bachelor's degree from Amherst College, where he majored in English and Asian studies.  His law degree is from Harvard Law School.  He served as Deputy Sheriff in Berkshire County, Massachusetts and from there went on serve as an anti-crime, anti-drug advocate as an attorney and in the New York State Senate, getting elected in 1998.

Dan Donovan (R), Republican, Conservative party lines – A Staten Island District Attorney, Donovan received his Bachelor's degree from St. John's University, where he majored in Criminal Justice. He received his law degree from Fordham University Law School.  He was a prosecutor for eight years in Manhattan and served as a Staten Island Borough President in 2002.

State Comptroller

Thomas DiNapoli (D), Democrat, Working Families party lines – A Nassau County resident, DiNapoli became state comptroller in 2007.  In 1972, when he was elected to the Mineola Board of Education, he was only 18 years old.  He then served in the New York State Assembly for 20 years. He has also been an adjunct professor and a manager in the telecommunications industry. DiNapoli earned his Bachelor's degree from Hofstra University with a major in History. He received his Master's degree Management and Urban Policy from The New School University.

Harry Wilson (R), Republican, Independence, Conservative party lines – Harry Wilson, a native of Johnstown, New York, has been comptroller for Goldman Sachs, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Blackstone Group, and Silver Point Capital. Wilson was the only Republican to serve on the President's Auto Task Force, where he advised both Presidents Bush and Obama on how to proceed with the overhaul of General Motors. He was opposed the corporate bailout of car company Chrysler.  Wilson is married with four children and lives in Westchester.

U.S. Congress (New York State's 4th District):

D - Carolyn McCarthy – McCarthy was tapped to run as the Democratic nominee once again this year and has served in Congress since 1996, riding a gun-control platform to office after her husband was killed and son badly wounded in the 1993 shooting on the Long Island Rail Road. McCarthy, a lifelong resident of Mineola, is a nurse with over 30 years of experience. In Congress, McCarthy serves as the chair of the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, where she has the opportunity on the federal level to do what she loves: helping children and families. She also serves on the Congressional Financial Services Committee.

R - Francis Becker – Becker has served the 6th legislative district since the inception of the Nassau County Legislature 16 years ago. He is also a certified financial planner and president of Becker & Associates Planning Services. Becker is well known in his hometown Lynbrook. He is a member of the Moms and Dads Club of Lynbrook High School and the Knights of Columbus, and is a former coach of the Lynbrook Titans football and lacrosse teams. In the past several years, Becker has secured over $300,000 in county funds for streetscaping projects in Lynbrook that have served to improve the village's business community.

New York State Senate (7th District):

R – Jack Martins – Martins is the current Mayor and lifetime resident of the village of Mineola. First elected as Mayor of the village in 2003, he has touted his fiscal plan to bring the village of Mineola out of a $33 million debt, reducing it to about $20 million. In 2008 Martins unsuccessfully ran against Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy for New York's Fourth Congressional District. Martins is currently listed as a vice president of J & A Contracting, a family-owned business based in Bohemia. He currently lives in Mineola with his wife and four daughters.

D – Craig Johnson – Johnson was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 2007. Currently serving his second term, Johnson chairs the Senate Committee on Investigation and Government Operations, a committee charged with the oversight of the workings of state government, and holds a seat on the MTA Capital Program Review Board. Prior to his election, Craig Johnson served for seven years as a member of the Nassau County Legislature and the youngest-ever chairman of the Finance Committee. Johnson is of Counsel with the law firm of Jaspan Schlesinger Hoffman LLP in Garden City and a resident of Port Washington along with his wife and three children.

New York State Assembly (17th District):

R - Thomas McKevitt – McKevitt was born in Oceanside but has lived most of his life in East Meadow. McKevitt has been involved in helping local state candidates and officials for the past 20 years, and he is currently serving his third term in office. Describing himself as "a hardworking person that advocates for his community," McKevitt said he believes that Assembly rules need to be changed to allow each member to bring a bill to the floor for a vote. The Hofstra Law School graduate has been coach of the Holy Trinity Mock Trial Team for 10 years.

D - Thomas Devaney – Devaney has been a resident of East Williston for over 30 years and he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. Devaney also serves as a truck lieutenant for the East Williston Fire Department, and is president of the Volunteer & Exempt Firefighters Benevolent Association of East Williston. Although Devaney is a newcomer to professional politics, he stresses that his "experience in areas of leadership" makes him appropriate for the role of assemblyman.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visit http://www.vote411.org/pollfinder.php to find your local polling location.