Grodenchik Loses Primary; Sabini Survives

Give round two to Jimmy Meng. As of press time, returns indicated that the Flushing businessman pulled the biggest upset in Queens by besting Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik in a rematch of 2002.
"Its not looking good," said Grodenchik campaign consultant Evan Stavisky. "Jimmy Meng has a lead around 600 votes. Theres a few outstanding sites but the lions share is in. Its not going to be a good night."
Meng, who lost by only 126 votes to Grodenchik in a three-way primary in 2002, apparently benefited from being the only Asian on the ballot. Two years ago, Ethel Chen siphoned off crucial votes from Meng to help Grodenchik punch his ticket to Albany.
While the blow to Grodenchik will also be felt by Councilmember John Liu, who campaigned hard for the Assemblyman, the Liu-backed district leadership ticket of Terence Park and Ellen Young appeared victorious over the slate favored by former Councilmember Julia Harrison, who also backed Meng.
Grodenchik will still be on the ballot November 2 in the General Election as the Working Families Party candidate. It is still not clear if Grodenchik will campaign against the Democratic nominee.
Meilin Tan will be on the ballot in November as a Republican.
State Senator John Sabini won his race against Luis Rosero, who picked up the endorsement of Rev. Al Sharpton in the closing days of the campaign, but found it still wasnt enough against the incumbent.
"This is a great victory," Sabini said. "It proves that those who want to divide these great communities cant do it. It was a combination of the hard work of my staff and the efforts out in the streets from the labor community."