Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark is seeking his 15th term as a Democrat representing the 13th Congressional District, which stretches from Oakland to parts of North San Jose, and includes Fremont, Newark and Union City.

Saundra Duffy and Jim Goetz are facing off in the Republican primary for the right to oppose Stark, Libertarian Howard Mora, American Independent Party candidate Don J. Grundmann and Natural Law Party candidate Timothy R. Hoehner in the November general election.

Stark, 68, the district's representative since 1973, is a former banker and Air Force veteran. He supports universal health care coverage and closing corporate loopholes in the tax code. A senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Stark is also the ranking Democratic member on the Health Subcommittee.

Fremont resident Goetz, 52, an aerospace software engineer for Lockheed Martin, lost to Stark by a wide margin in the 1998 election. The Texas native is concerned with the federal deficit, the readiness of the military and the future of the Social Security and Medicare systems. He describes himself as a ``centrist'' who is a fiscal conservative and social moderate.

Duffy, 52, a sign language interpreter and first-time candidate who lives in Hayward, describes herself as a ``radical conservative'' who opposes gun control, talks about ``abortion mills'' and advocates a big tax cut. On the other hand, she says, she also clashes with the religious right and her party's ``country club set.''

Libertarian candidate Mora, 29, a Fremont resident and software engineering manager for Visto Corp. is making his first bid for public office. Mora says Republicans and Democrats are too similar in their views and that Libertarians offer voters a real choice. He advocates the decriminalization of marijuana, elimination of gasoline taxes and a sharp cut in the income tax.

Natural Law Party candidate Hoehner, 42, is a stress-management teacher and a first-time candidate. Hoehner says he is for ``complete organic foods'' and calls for mandatory labeling of any genetically altered food. He also calls for broader use of alternative medicine to prevent illness and Transcendental Meditation to help calm stressed-out students.

Grundmann of San Leandro, is a chiropractor.