Grodenchik Weighs Future

Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik is still not sure what his future holds after losing in last weeks Democratic Primary, but he knows the clock is ticking on a pronouncement.
A week after the voters made their decision to nominate Jimmy Meng for the Democratic slot on Novembers ballot, Grodenchik is mulling over a third-party run from the Working Families Party (WFP) line, which is off to the right of the Democrats on the ballot, and just a bit to the left in their ideology.
"I havent ruled it out yet," Grodenchik told The Queens Courier. "I think I have to make [a decision] fairly soon. Ive been talking to people and its a difficult decision. I suspect Ill get a healthy chunk of the vote, but with so many out voting for president, it makes it very difficult, very expensive and offers no guarantees."
One thing for certain is Grodenchiks surprise at the results of the Primary – a 51 to 41 percent win for Meng.
"I havent yet looked closely at the specific results, but if you would have told me that I would get 2,200 votes [600 more than in the 2002 primary] and lose" Grodenchik said as his voice faded off. "Ill have a better analysis than that but what I think is probably all irrelevant at this point anyway."
Grodenchik did say that he received "torrents" of phone calls from well-wishers since his loss "so many I almost thought I won" and said his opponents voter turnout was the key to his election.
"There were over 1,000 new registrants, thats a lot," Grodenchik said. "Beyond that there have been some allegations raised about people who shouldnt be allowed to register, but thats not for me to get involved. The Board of Elections is doing an investigation and Ill accept their judgment."
According to the BOE, close to 200 registrants are being investigated. The findings are expected to have no impact on the results of the election.
Back in the 2002 general election, Meng mounted a third-party bid against Grodenchik and gained 4,049 votes from the Independence and Conservative party lines. That was good for 26 percent of the vote, an impressive sum for a third-party candidate in New York (Grodenchik won with 38 percent). However, this years ballot will attract a slew of Democratic voters, many of whom are expected to simply run the slate of their partys candidates. Grodenchik would need voters to shun Meng, who would be riding the coattails of presidential candidate Senator John Kerry, and turn their attention to the more inconspicuous WFP.
In last years City Council races, the WFP was successful in getting Letitia James elected in Brooklyn in the partys first major victory in the city.
"The goal of the Working Families Party is to more forcefully inject the issues of working-class, middle-class, and poor people like jobs, health care, education, and housing into the public debate," said Alex S. Navarro, communications director for the WFP, who said he could not yet comment on a possible Grodenchik run. "Our candidates recent successes in Brooklyn and in
(pick up a copy of the Queens Courier to read more)