By Adam Kramer
The race to replace the 14 Queens city council members who cannot seek re-election because of the city’s term-limits law started with 108 hopefuls, but since the Board of Elections’ hearings on challenges began Monday that number has been pared down to 87.
The battle that takes place between candidate and challenger is staged to prove that a signature is valid or invalid. If the challenger can prove the candidate lacks enough valid signatures to remain on the ballot the Board of Elections removes him or her. Each council candidate needs 900 valid signatures to remain on the ballot.
“The whole process is about collecting valid and sufficient signatures,” said Michael Reich, the executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party. “You have to show you have a modicum of support in the community.”
Reich said this is particularly important in this race because a large number of candidates are seeking political office.
But the decisions made by the Board of Election are only tentative because the candidate who is removed can appeal to the State Supreme Court and be put back on the ballot.
In the race for the 19th Council District in northeast Queens, no one was thrown off the ballot. The six candidates still vying for City Councilman Mike Abel’s (R-Bayside) seat are Democrats Tony Avella, Arthur Cheliotes, John Frank, Jerry Iannece and Joyce Shepard as well as Republican Dennis Saffran.
There were 10 candidates who initially entered the race to replace longtime City Councilwoman Julia Harrison (D-Flushing) in the 20th CD and as of Tuesday night only Democrat Adrian Joyce was removed from the ballot. The nine remaining candidates still fighting for the job are Democrats Terence Park, John Liu, Ethel Chen, Richard Jannaccio, and Linda Mandell. Martha Flores- Vazquez, who was kicked off the Democratic ticket, is still in the race as the independent candidate as well as Republican Ryan Walsh. Two Green Party candidates, Paul Graziano and Evergreen Chou, are still in contention.
Originally there were 11 candidates hoping to replace Councilman John Sabini’s (D-Jackson Heights) District 25 seat, but after the challenges only five — Democrats James Van Bramer, Helen Sears, Rudolph Greco, Magdalena Schultheis and Green Party candidate Barton Goft — were left standing.
No one was thrown off the ballot in the race to succeed City Councilman Walter McCaffrey (D-Woodside) in Council District 26. The six who filed petitions to run — Democrats Matthew Farrell, Eric Gioia, Patrick O’Malley, Joseph Conley, Michael Kearney and Green Party candidate Ann Eagan — survived.
The original five candidates for City Councilman Tom Ognibene’s (R-Middle Village) were still in the running. Republican Dennis Gallagher was joined by Democrats Elizabeth Crowley, Linda Sansivieri, Robert Cermeli and Green party candidate Sharain Pereira.
The race for Juanita Watkins’ (D-Laurelton) seat in the 31st District attracted the most hopefuls in the borough with 13 candidates, but two have been forced to drop out. The 11 hopefuls still in the running are Democrats Charlotte Jefferson, Ed Lewis, James Blake, James Sanders, David Hooks, Amanda Clarke, Carol Howell, and Henrietta Fullard as well as Independent candidate Rosalind O’Neal, Republican contender Everly Brown and lone Green Party candidate Francisco Pena.
There was a bloodbath in the race for Thomas White’s (D-Jamaica) District 28 seat, where 11 candidates started out and only five remained. They are Democrats Trevor Rupnarain, Anthony Andrews, Allan Jenkins, Garth Merchant and Aziz Uddin Bilal.
Challenges against candidates frequently weed out some minor contenders in crowded races.
Corey Bearak, president of the Queens County Line Democratic Association, said sometimes a male candidate wants to knock off the other male candidates so he will face only women candidates, thereby dividing the women’s vote.
As for the Democratic Party’s challenges, Bearak said if the party can remove the candidates who might give its choice for a particular seat a run for the money, the party can “marshal its forces in another race where there is still a significant challenger.”
Even if a candidate survives the challenge, that individual might be wounded because of the time and money spent fighting back, he said.
Reich said because there are so many fringe candidates this year, the Democratic Party is trying to ensure all candidates have the required number of signatures to be on the ballot. He said if a political hopefuls do not have enough support, “they should not be there.”
Reich said there have been challenges to the Democratic Party’s endorsed candidates, but none had been successful as of Tuesday.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
