King, Kudler Face Off in 3rd Congressional District

After long-time incumbent Rep. Peter King, R-Seaford, said he was running on a record of fighting for Long Islanders during a News 12 debate this month, his opponent for the 3rd Congressional District seat, Howard Kudler, laid out his own campaign strategy in his opening statement.

"I'm also running on Peter King's record," said Kudler, a Democrat, of Merrick, who has been a social studies teacher in New York City for the past 26 years.

The problem for Kudler, of course, is that despite being engulfed in numerous controversies over his 17 years in Congress, King is an icon among his legions of  conservative supporters. He has won re-election eight times. In one of his tougher races in 2006 against then county legislator David Mejias, King still won handily with 56 percent of the vote. 

As of Tuesday, Kudler had a total of 13 followers on his Twitter page. His campaign website was "under re-construction" for months before a new version appeared this week. On Facebook, 89 people have "liked" Kudler's page, which he has used mostly to slam King, as well as the media.

In a post on Facebook earlier this month, Kudler wrote: "Newsday's editors advise 'Vote for candidates who understand ...complex issues and will make an honest effort to find compromises that will solve them.' Yet still pick the bigoted, partisan, dinosaur, Pete King as their endorsement in the 3rd CD."

King, for his part, said he is not brushing off Kudler's challenge, saying that "sometimes the person who comes in from outside of politics can be a tougher opponent.

"They have new ideas, they can think out of the box," King told Patch in a phone interview last week. "As far as I'm concerned, Howard Kudler is a serious opponent and I'm taking it very seriously."

Howard Kudler

Kudler moved to Merrick 10 years ago from Queens.  He has two sons with his wife, who is an attorney.  Kudler holds a bachelor's degree from SUNY-New Paltz and a master's degree from St. John's University with a certificate in international law and affairs. 

Kudler, win-or-lose, seems to be thoroughly enjoying the campaign experience, bounding across rooms at voter forums, cracking jokes and promising crowds that the race is much closer than most anyone in the political world says it is. 

"I'm the Democrat, but don't hold that against me," the 56-year-old Kudler said at a meet the candidates night put on by the North and South Merrick civic organizations last week, which King did not attend. 

As Kudler finished up his comments before a crowd of about 40 at Merrick Road Park, someone asked him what he thought of President Obama.

"Sorry, Bob, I do not follow what Mr. Obama says," said Kudler, who had spent $10,000 on his campaign as of last week.  "I believe in voting for the people. A congressman should be voice of the people, not the administration." 

Kudler was in favor of the 2009 federal stimulus package and Wall Street bailout.

"As an economics teacher, it was necessary," Kudler said during an extensive interview with Patch at a Merrick Starbucks in August.  "I hate doing it, but it was necessary."

Kudler is to the left of Obama on the healthcare issue.  He said he favors a single-payer system similar to those in Canada and the United Kingdom. 

"Since 1856, we've been a socialist nation," Kudler said. "We have welfare, seat belts in cars…the government has been telling us what to do for a long time. It's about time this nation had healthcare for people who can't afford it." 

If elected, Kudler, who captured 38 percent of the vote in his first run for office in 2008 against Assemblyman Dave McDonough, said he will also fight to bring jobs back to Long Island and work to bring military troops home. 

Peter King

King is a graduate of St. Francis College and the University of Notre Dame Law School. He is a lifelong resident of New York and has lived in Nassau County for more than 40 years. King and his wife, Rosemary, reside in Seaford. They have two adult children and two grandchildren.

The three biggest issues facing the 3rd Congressional District, according to King, are jobs, taxes and terrorism. It is that last issue, though, that has put King in the media spotlight for years. 

In 2007, King told politico.com that that there are too many mosques in the country and that we should look for ways to infiltrate them.  King, first elected to Congress in 1992, has said those comments were taken out of context. 

If re-elected and Republicans take back control of the House, as many are predicting, King will once again become chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. 

King, 66, said he is focusing on his own re-election, but in a political climate turning against Democrats, his eyes are also squared on the country as a whole.

"I am also running nationally against the policies of the Obama administration," King said.  "It's a referendum on Barack Obama." 

King has been a vocal opponent of the new health care law, arguing that it will put a "real burden" on small businesses. 

"I'm going to repeal as much of the Obama health care plan as I can," King said of his plans if re-elected. 

King also wants to cut federal spending and extend the Bush tax cuts, including to those in higher tax brackets. 

"One out of every six families in this district would have their taxes go up," King said if those tax cuts do not remain in place for those who make more than $250,000 a year. "If their taxes go up, it has an impact on them.  There will be spending less money…there will be an impact on sales taxes.  If sales taxes don't come in, property taxes have to go up."

Kudler is also in favor of extending the tax cuts, which will expire on Jan. 1 if Congress does not act.

"They have been beneficial in helping the economy," Kudler said. They have been priming the economy.  We will be in recession for at least another year and I don't care what Mr. Obama says, extending those tax cuts will help the people." 

The 3rd Congressional District cuts through a wide swath of Long Island, including Merrick, Bellmore, Long Beach, Wantagh, Seaford, Levittown, Syosset, Massapequa, Glen Cove and West Islip.  Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visithttp://www.vote411.org/pollfinder.php to find your local polling location.