Army Reserve Lt. Col. Stephen Labate last week earned the Republican nomination to oppose U.S. Congressman Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) for his newly configured 3rd District seat in November’s general election.
“I feel very fortunate that I’ve had the ability to really just concentrate on Steve Israel and not a primary candidate,” said Labate, who ran unopposed in last Tuesday’s GOP primary.
Now, Labate said, he is ready for the real thing.
“We have been getting ready for this race for a good year and a half,” Labate said.
Since June of 2011, Labate said he has held five fundraisers. He said an average of 200 people attended the events, which he called encouraging for the economic viability of his campaign against Israel.
“Steve Forbes came out three months ago, Rudy Guiliani, a lot of other players,” Labate said of some of the more famous guests at his fundraisers.
A resident of Deer Park in Suffolk County, Labate said his home is situated “1.2 miles” outside of the new 3rd District, which now includes areas of Nassau and Suffolk counties and Queens.
In Nassau County, the 3rd District will include all or part of Oyster Bay, Great Neck, Manhasset, Port Washington, Roslyn, Williston Park, Floral Park and New Hyde Park.
The new 3rd District also encompasses the Queens neighborhoods of Whitestone, Beechhurst, Little Neck, Douglaston, Fort Totten, Bay Terrace and a portion of Bayside.
Since announcing his intentions to run last summer, Labate said he has taken time to become acquainted with the residents of the district.
“We’ve been gearing up for this for quite some time,” he said.
Before his former 2nd District was re-configured, Israel represented all of Suffolk and portions of eastern Nassau counties.
Israel, who was first inducted into the U.S. House of Representatives in 2001, is now running for re-election in a district, which includes areas of Great Neck and Queens that were previous strongholds of retiring veteran Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-6th District).
Since first being elected, Israel has served on the House committees on appropriations, armed services, financial services and science. He is currently chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which oversees his party’s efforts to regain a majority in the House.
Although Labate ran unopposed in last week’s Republican primary, he said the end of the election was a good thing.
“With the primaries out of the way in other races it helps us,” Labate said. “Now we have a clean slate of who’s running where and against who. Now all the candidates and all the volunteers can put their attention on where their focus should be – on winning the election.”
Labate, who served more than 19 years in the Army, began his military career by enrolling in the ROTC program at St. John’s University in 1987. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
Aside from his military career, which includes three tours of active duty and service in the Iraq War, Labate has worked as a retirement counselor with Prudential Retirement for the past 15 years.
Along with his wife Leticia, Labate is the father of six-year-old twins named Michael and Maria.
Israel’s campaign spokeswoman Jen Pastrich did not return telephone calls seeking comment on this story.
Reach reporter John Santa by e-mail at jsanta@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x203
