By William Murphy
Newsday (New York)
Copyright 2006 Newsday, Inc.
His congressional campaign literature highlights immigration, support for the war in Iraq, preventing terrorism and reducing this country’s dependence on foreign oil.
But what really gets GOP congressional candidate Martin Blessinger enthused - when he’s not talking about his son or his daughter - is the “pneumatic vein inflation device,” a patented mechanism he developed to raise the veins of heart attack victims so EMTs can inject life-saving medicines.
As a Nassau County police officer and EMT for more than 20 years, he often found himself in the back of the ambulance searching for a vein in dim light, often at high speeds and often on a less-than-smooth road.
“It’s stressful. That person’s life is in your hands. I can’t tell you how seriously we took that. That was a serious business,” he said.
Blessinger has shown equal commitment to his campaign against Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola), although he admitted that this might not be the most promising year for Republicans.
On the other hand, “Circumstance is also on my side,” Blessinger said. “We live in uncertain times. If people look at the skill set that I bring, what I’ve done, what I stand for and the degree of determination I have to what I’m going to do, I think bodes well for me.”
Blessinger, 59, grew up in housing projects in Queens. His family moved to Floral Park in Nassau County when he was 16, and he still lives there with his wife of 36 years, Susan, a schoolteacher.
He graduated from Sewanhaka High School and went to technical school for a year before dropping out to join the Nassau County Police Department in 1966. He returned to school while working as a police officer and got a degree from the New York Institute of Technology in behavioral sciences.
He was promoted to sergeant in 1977 and retired in 1987. He was also certified as an advanced emergency medical technician, served on the state Emergency Medical Council, worked in the Emergency Services Bureau and was deputy commander of the Firearms Training Unit.
After retiring, he devoted much of his time to his children and managing his money. “I was always - I guess the word is ‘frugal’ - a big saver. I believe in it,” he said.
Barred from political activity during his police years, he worked his way into Conservative Party politics after retiring.
He was the scheduler for Republican-Conservative Herbert London’s unsuccessful 1994 race for state comptroller and finally decided to run himself this year on the Republican and Conservative lines against McCarthy.
As for his invention, the medical profession has shown little interest. But the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted him a patent on May 1, 1990. It’s No. 4,920,9171.
“It’s unfortunate that people didn’t pick up on it. It works, and I don’t know how many lives it would have saved,” he said.
All seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election Nov. 7. Long Island voters will elect five members of the House; today we
profile both major-party candidates in the 4th Congressional District.