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	Aretakis Is Latest to Target McNulty Seat Lawyer Says Protection of Children from Abuse Will Be Key Campaign Issue By Lauren Stanforth Albany Times Union April 1, 2008 http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=676993&category=REGION&newsdate=4/1/2008 An attorney who represents numerous people who allege they were the victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests said Monday that he will announce his run for the 21st Congressional District seat next week. John Aretakis, 47, would be the seventh Democrat to enter the race, in addition to two Republicans. All are vying to take the seat of Rep. Michael McNulty, D-Green Island, who will retire at year's end after 20 years in Congress. Aretakis has filed numerous lawsuits against the church on behalf of those who say they were molested by priests. He was fined by two federal judges last year for filing baseless lawsuits. Aretakis has appealed these sanctions. He said one of his major campaign issues will be changing laws so children have greater protections against sexual abuse. "One out of five girls are sexually abused, and one in six boys. If you do the math, that's somewhere around 50 million people ... I don't think anyone is speaking to that voice," Aretakis said Monday. He said in a news release that he has been an advocate for the marginalized, and has participated in 15 New York City marathons, examples of his mental and physical strengths. Aretakis' wife, Nia Cholakis, previously served as a Republican North Greenbush town justice and ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for Rensselaer County judge in 2003. Mark Lyman, Aretakis' spokesman, said Aretakis' primary residence is in Manhattan, but he will spend more time at the North Greenbush house where his wife lives if he is elected. Lyman also works with the group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.
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