In a challenge in which Westbury is home turf for both candidates, Democrat Darlene Sigalow is challenging Republican incumbent Donna Ferrara to the 15th Assembly District seat.

Sigalow, a resident of Westbury and self-employed professional model and product spokesperson, has said she offers a fresh perspective as a businessperson with a wide range of experience.

"I look at things with a fresh perspective, coming from a business standpoint, and being a regular, ordinary citizen," she said during an interview last week. She added, "I've always been a concerned citizen, and I just thought this was a natural transition, to be able to represent people in my area, and be able to communicate their concerns in Albany."

A graduate of W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury, Sigalow received a B.S. in business administration with a concentration in finance from Boston University. She also attended the New England School of Art and Design in Boston and is currently taking continuing education classes in fashion design and art at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Her business experience, she said, has included five years in advertising as a senior media planner with advertising agencies in New York and Boston, where she handled multi-million dollar budgets for accounts like IBM and Fleet Bank. Sigalow became involved with the Democratic Party four years ago, when she began working on Carolyn McCarthy's Congressional campaign. She noted that McCarthy has been her biggest influence in pursuing politics.

The Democratic challenger noted that she has been campaigning "the old-fashioned way" through walking door to door, literature drops, and meeting people at shopping centers and community events. In her campaign platform, she promises to fight for affordable health care and prescription drugs for all people, to promote legislation to support fair wages, safe work environments and child care, and to work to bring fiscal responsibility to all levels of government.

Sigalow describes herself as a candidate who is driven by health care issues. She noted that after doing her own research and talking to residents, she has defined four main areas that people are concerned with related to health care. These are: access to health care coverage, coverage of services, uncontrolled increases in premiums, and the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs.

"I would fight in Albany for legislation that would provide more access to coverage, and address these issues," she said. She noted that consumers need to be more aware of what their health insurance policies entitle them to, to ensure adequate coverage in times of medical need. "Part of my mission is to really educate people to be more aware of their coverage - to be more aware of what they're entitled to."

Sigalow believes that because Healthcare Management Organizations (HMOs) have too large a role in medical decisions, doctors' authority is being compromised, and therefore HMO reform is needed. "You need to take the authority to make decisions for patient care, and place it back in the hands of the doctors," she said. She also wants to fight for the "large pool of people who cannot afford health insurance," such as part-timers and the self-employed.

She also wants to find ways to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors, because in talking to local people she has heard numerous stories of hardships related to the high cost of medicine. For example, one person she met on the campaign trail said she pays $300 for a 90-day supply of the medicine she needs.

Sigalow also said she would advocate particularly for women's health care issues. She said she would push for legislation that provides funding for early screening for osteoporosis, cervical cancer and mammograms. She added that she is pro-choice and would support the use of Medicaid funding to pay for abortions.

In addition to health care, Sigalow commented on several other areas of concern.

For example, she feels Long Island needs a better, more extensive mass transit system to improve transportation and reduce pollution.

She is in favor of the Environmental Legacy Fund bond issue being proposed by the Town of North Hempstead, because she feels it would help preserve open space, which she said is needed in local communities. The bond issue, which appears as a proposition for voter approval on the Nov. 7 election ballot, would fund the preservation of open spaces and protection of coastal areas, at a cost of $9 per year per household.

She also said she wants to improve security at Long Island Rail Road stations, especially in light of the murder of a girl at the Westbury train station in May.

In addition, she said she wants to work for more state aid for education to help alleviate the property tax burden in local school districts. "I would like to bring back to our communities, a bigger slice of the pie for education," she said.

As for labor issues, she supports an increase in the minimum wage and the establishment of a living wage.

She also feels campaign finance reform is needed. "We need to create a level playing field," she said, noting that the current system of campaign finance forces candidates to spend too much time raising money. "There are different proposals out there, but we need to find one that works."

Sigalow is a Democratic committee person for Westbury and a member of the Mid-Nassau Democratic Club. She has been endorsed by the Nassau County Fire Marshals Benevolent Association, the Nassau County Abortion Rights Council and the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL/NY).