By Marissa Maier

Southampton Town Councilman Chris Nuzzi disclosed this weekend that he is the latest to mull over a run for U.S. Congress against incumbent Democrat Tim Bishop of Southampton.

“It would be an overstatement to say that I am jumping into the race,” noted Nuzzi on Monday. “[But] for a variety of reasons I am giving it some serious thought.”

Of leaping from the town to the national political arena, Nuzzi, a Republican, argued, “The title someone holds certainly won’t dictate their ability to get up and debate policy and express their concerns.”

Also this week, Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, who left the Republican Party last year to become an independent, announced he is considering forming a group to explore the chances of a run.

“I think Tim [Bishop] has some challenges, and there appears to be a lot of guys just jumping in,” said Schneiderman.

Schneiderman and Nuzzi would be joining at least two other candidates who have announced a run for Bishop’s seat, including Randy Altschuler, a businessman from St. James, L.I. who is the executive chairman of a nation-wide recycling services business, and Chris Cox, who has a home in Westhampton and is the grandson of former president Richard Nixon. Cox was the executive director in New York of John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and his father, Ed, is the state GOP chairman.

Nuzzi said his experiences on the local front would serve him well in Congress.

“The grassroots experience from governing on a local level and being in touch with people on a local level is directly relevant to doing that in Washington,” remarked Nuzzi. “That gets forgotten when you are sitting in Washington … There is no closer form of government than the school board and the town government. It puts us right in the middle of the people, agendas and opinions.”

Asked why he is considering a run at this time, Nuzzi stated he is extremely concerned with the direction of the country and how that impacts local communities. He believes constituents in general feel their representatives fail to serve the needs of their district.

Schneiderman, who grew up in Hauppauge and lives in Montauk and would run on the Independence Party line, said he believes the public interest is tracking away from the major parties, and believes the time may be right for an independent.

“But I’m still a long way from making a decision to enter the race,” he said.

Bishop was first elected in 2002. The general election will be held in November, 2010.

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