By Kathianne Boniello
Northeast Queens voters will have a full slate of Democratic candidates to chose from in September when they go to the polls to chose a successor to City Councilman Mike Abel (R-Bayside), with all five earning enough signatures to make the ballot.
Only Democratic candidate Tony Avella, a longtime community activist from College Point, filed objections challenging the signatures of the other candidates earlier this month. The remaining four — labor leader Arthur Cheliotes, activist John Frank, civic leader Jerry Iannece and activist Joyce Shepard — had refused to challenge each other’s efforts to make the ballot.
One Republican candidate, Douglaston lawyer Dennis Saffran, is also running for the seat.
In the end each of the six candidates had enough signatures to earn a place on the ballot for the northeast Queens council district.
The six candidates expressed confidence in their campaigns this week and in their ability to qualify for public matching funds from the city, which would boost their financial power as the race progresses.
Frank Barry, a spokesman for the city Campaign Finance Board, said Cheliotes and Frank each filed late and missed the initial public funds disbursement deadline last week. The city Campaign Finance Board will provide council candidates with a maximum of $75,0000 in public funds for the primary, matching contributions they have raised on a four-to-one basis, provided the contenders follow strict guidelines.
In separate interviews with the TimesLedger this week, Cheliotes and Frank said technical problems with the electronic filing system had hampered their ability to file their financial information with the city on time. Both candidates said the problem would be corrected by the end of this week.
Abel, one of three Queens Republicans in the City Council, has been in office for nearly 10 years and is prohibited from seeking a third term under the city’s 1993 term limits law. Abel announced his candidacy in the borough president’s race in November 1999 but dropped out earlier this year.
The 19th Councilmanic District covers most of northeast Queens and includes the communities of Bayside, Bay Terrace, Whitestone, College Point, Malba, Douglas Manor, Beechurst, and parts of Douglaston, Little Neck, Auburndale, Linden Hill, and Murray Hill.
Avella has run for the 19th Council District twice before. This week he defended his campaign’s decision to challenge his Democratic opponents.
“I wanted to reserve my legal right to look” at the petitions of the other candidates, Avella said of his decision to challenge the other Democrats running for the seat. “This is the procedure.”
Election law allows party members and district residents e to file challenges to a candidate’s petitions to get on the ballot. Challenges often seek to declare a candidate’s signatures invalid, which can force their removal from the ballot and lead to court battles.
Avella filed challenges against the five other candidates running for Abel’s seat, but the most concentrated effort was against Joyce Shepard, with whom he has long had a contentious relationship.
He did not pursue challenges against any of his rivals except Shepard, but he later dropped his objections to her when the city Board of Elections ruled she had more than enough signatures to get on the ballot.
“My campaign is based on my record of service, what I have done and what I would like to do for the district,” he said. “It has nothing to do with my opponents.”
A spokesman for Cheliotes, a union leader with significant labor support, said the campaign was going as planned.
“I think Arthur is in a very good place to do what he needs to do to win the race,” spokesman Peter Krokondolas of the Advance Group said.
Krokondolas said Cheliotes recently took out advertising in community newspapers urging the candidates for Abel’s seat not to challenge each other’s attempts to get on the ballot.
“Arthur believes in full ballot access,” he said. “Let the voters decide.”
Frank said this week he has been relying on his extensive footwork throughout the community.
“I’ve knocked on 10,000 doors throughout this district, and by the time the primary comes I’ll have gone to another 3,000,” Frank said. “That’s more than all of my opponents combined.”
Frank said he believes his efforts have resonated with the community.
“The goal is to be accessible,” said Frank, who has collected personal endorsements from throughout the district, including that of Bayside activist Geraldine Spinella. “I think the message is being heard.”
Civic leader Iannece said he has built a strong campaign based on his efforts as the head of the Bayside Hills Civic Association.
“I think we’re doing very well,” he said. Iannece has also become more aggressive in his criticisms of Avella and his petition challenges.
“Let’s show everybody we’re bigger than this,” he said. “Let the people decide.”
Shepard expressed enthusiasm for her candidacy after facing back the challenge from Avella and making it onto the ballot.
“I am a survivor,” she said. Shepard credited the efforts of her people who carried her petitions, including her husband Keith, in the success of her campaign.
“Now I get to go door-to-door,” she said. “I want to meet as many of my constituents as I can.”
Without any party candidates to contend with Saffran, the lone Republican, said he is biding his time until after the September primary to see which Democrat he will face in November.
“We’re in very good shape,” he said.
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 146.
