He quietly serves constituents well
October 31, 2006
As elected officials go, Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) is so unassuming that he often flies beneath the media radar. But overlooking what he's delivered for his East End congressional district would be a mistake.
Whether it's corralling money for road projects, open space, beach protection and Brookhaven National Laboratory; or serving the needs of individual constituents; or keeping the Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing on Long Island, Bishop, 56, has gotten the job done. And with decades of experience as a college administrator, he's one of the Democrats in the know when it comes to advocating for higher education, including student financial-aid programs threatened by the budget knife.
Unlike Bishop, Republican challenger Italo Zanzi, 32, is not one to go unnoticed. Zanzi has panache, a top-flight education - including a law degree and a master's in business administration - and a glamour job as Major League Baseball's vice president for international broadcast sales and Latin American and Hispanic marketing.
But Zanzi is a political novice making his first run for public office. Having recently moved to Smithtown, he lacks Bishop's knowledge of the district and its people. Zanzi has made slowing illegal immigration through tougher enforcement the centerpiece of his campaign, charging that Bishop is insufficiently hard-line. But Bishop favors a comprehensive approach that includes tighter border security, getting tough with employers who hire people who are here illegally, a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship for the 12 million people already illegally in the country. That's the pragmatic approach also favored by President George W. Bush.
Zanzi has tremendous potential. Down the road there should be a place for a bright, energetic man like him in public life. But Bishop is rooted in the East End. He seldom toots his own horn, but he's earned a third term in Congress. Newsday endorses Bishop.