Voters Guide 2010: National Races

Schumer, Townshend. Gillibrand, DioGuadari. Bishop, Altschuler. Israel, Gomez. These are the names you've been hearing from dozens of media outlets and reading on hundreds of for-and-against political signs throughout the region. Here is a final summary of the major party candidates for national offices on Election Day.

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 (Special Election):

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.

U.S. Congress, New York State's First District:

D – Rep. Tim Bishop – Bishop has admitted this year's race is the toughest of his four re-election bids, though he believes it's due to a "reflection primarily of the times" more so than anything he has or has not done. Bishop has labeled Republican candidate Randy Altschuler as an outsider and an outsourcer, pointing to his relatively new move to the district three years ago and founding role in Office Tiger, a company that provides jobs overseas. As a native of Southampton and former Provost of Southampton College, Bishop is hoping his track record getting federal funds to the area and past experiences with voters help win him a fifth term.

R – Randy Altschuler – Altschuler took many of the same punches Bishop is throwing now to win a 3-way September primary and land on the November ballot. While he says people respond better to a positive message, Altschuler has linked Bishop to an unpopular Congress and Democratic party both in his ads and in an interview with Patch. Altschuler is a self-made multi-millionaire who has spent $2 million of his own money on the campaign, and is marketing himself as someone who can manage a budget without asking taxpayers for more money.

U.S. Congress, New York State's Second District:

D –  Rep. Steve Israel -  Israel, first elected to New York State House of Representatives in 2000, has focused on veterans services, securing $3.7 million in payments, and wrote the Small Business Lending Fund Act.  In his re-election bid, Israel proposes tax incentives for businesses that hire unemployed works, a $5,000 tax credit for families with kids in college, a comprehensive green energy plan while holding BP accountable for the spill in the gulf. Israel criticized his opponent John Gomez's proposed tax plan to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction, claiming it will mean tax hikes for middle-class Americans. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed Israel.

R – John Gomez -  Gomez is a local businessman at a Bayport telecommunications firms who is running because Israel, whom he calls a career politician, lacks the necessary experience in the private sector during these economic hard times. Gomez proposes cutting the Capital Gains and Estate taxes, to restore the 2001 and 2003 cuts; seeks to repeal Obama's healthcare reform; and looks to local issues of affordable housing and rising gang violence on Long Island. Gomez's campaign for office is endorsed by Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy.