The presidential race between George Bush and Sen. John Kerry is certainly heated, but in New York City perhaps the hottest race is between candidates vying to represent the 13th congressional district, which covers Staten Island and parts of south Brooklyn.

Based on the voting records of Congressman Vito Fossella and Frank Barbaro, and with more than 70,000 union members living in the 13th District, New York labor leaders lined up behind Barbaro without hesitation.

Gathered on the steps of Staten Island’s Borough Hall on July 28 to pledge their support for Barbaro and to urge union members to do the same were Denis Hughes, president of the New York State AFL-CIO; Ed Ott, New York City Central Labor Council policy director, and several other union officials.

“No one has a better track record of fighting for working families than Frank Barbaro,” Hughes declared. “Without him we would not have a state OSHA law; we would not have our network of state occupational health clinics, and our public pensions would not be as secure as they are today. This race is a top priority for labor leaders at all levels because we have a chance to elect a true advocate to Congress.”

Hughes identified this race as one of four statewide that the AFL-CIO is targeting for intense campaigning, with volunteers working all-out on phone banks and door-to-door canvassing right up to election day.

As a former longshoreman and union member, Barbaro knows and understands the issues of working people. Union and grassroots support propelled his election to the State Assembly in 1972, where he continued to defend the workers, and speak out for homeowners, the elderly and the poor. One of his first victories was the landmark “Warranty of Habitability” law that established the right to have an apartment safe for human habitation.

Barbaro fought for whistleblower protections and was instrumental in passing the first OSHA law in the state. As chair of the Committee on Governmental Employees, he protected public employee pensions and passed laws that stopped anti-worker investments and fought to keep good jobs in New York.

His many legislative accomplishments included the “Heart Bill” for police and firefighters, increased pensions for widows of firefighters and police officers, the Public Employees Safety and Health Program, and the establishment of the first statewide network of occupational disease clinics.

Barbaro also served as Supreme Court Judge from 1997 to 2003.

His opponent, Congressman Fossella, has an AFL-CIO scorecard of voting for labor-backed bills only 4 percent of the time. Fossella’s poor showing on issues that profoundly impacted on his constituents — a district said to be one of the largest clusters of labor households in the nation — compelled Daily News columnist Errol Louis to write that “Fossella’s history of casting anti-union votes in Washington has caught up with him at last.” Only a handful of congressmen had a lower labor rating than Fossella.

Barbaro, who is running on the Democratic, Independent and Working Families Party lines, filed more than 10,000 signatures on his designating petitions in July. The required number of signatures for a congressional candidate is 1,250.

Local 237 President Carl Haynes said the union would work to help get Barbaro elected. “Anyone who knows Frank, knows that he is honest, hard-working and one of the most decent human beings around. He’s a fighter who truly cares about people.”

Local 237’s Staten Island retirees echoed Haynes’ sentiments about the Democratic congressional candidate after meeting with Barbaro in June at Todt Hill Houses. “He was well received,” said retired elevator mechanic Robert Rakowsky. “We’re not happy with the new Medicare plan that passed, and he talked about his differences with it. Fossella has done very little for anyone, especially people in our situation — retirees.”