Letter to the Editor: Long Beach Will Miss Peter King

To the Editor:

With the recent redistricting of Long Island’s Congressional lines, Long Beach will no longer be in Peter King’s district. I’ll miss King. I believe that Long Beach might miss King. 

King combines a regular-guy manner with the sophistication of being on the cutting edge of international politics.  His ascension to chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee gave him a prestige and recognition that reflected well for the communities he represented. Irish-Americans recall his key involvment in helping broker the Irish Peace Accords. 

He has always been a standard-bearer for his party, and his principled and sometimes tough stance on social, world and security issues made him a favorite of conservatives. However, he also has shown  flexibility and independence, evidenced by his support of President Clinton during the House impeachment vote and by his cultivation of close relationships with key Long Beach Democrat leadership.

In King’s place we get Carolyn McCarthy. In my opinion, McCarthy is an unimpressive rubber-stamp for her party who has never sponsored significant legislation. To this extent, her endlessly being returned to office by an unaccounting constituency and her lack of gravitas makes her a perfectly-matching bookend to go along with Long Beach’s state representative.

I don't want to talk about King like he’s gone; if re-elected, he will continue in Congress representing south-shore communities from Seaford to Islip. I’ll miss King. I hope he misses us and remembers Long Beach.

Frank McQuade
Long Beach