EDITORIAL: Newsday's endorsement in the 17th Assembly District

This legislative district has the distinction of being the most absurdly gerrymandered there is, at least in the view of someone who ought to know - its own assemblyman.

That would be Republican Thomas McKevitt. The 39-year-old East Meadow attorney was first elected in 2006, and he shows signs of having grown into the job. In an interview, he displayed a good grasp of how power works in Albany, correctly identified Medicaid as the state's most pressing budget issue, and as the ranking minority member of the Assembly Judiciary Committee pointed to his bipartisan efforts on behalf of no-fault divorce legislation.

His opponent is Democrat Tom Devaney, 33, of East Williston, a volunteer firefighter who mostly agrees on the issues but supports gay marriage. McKevitt (who acknowledges that gay marriage will eventually become reality) says he opposes it because his constituents do. McKevitt has a much greater command of the issues.

Newsday endorses McKevitt.