By Nathan Duke
Gallagher stepped down from office Friday as part of a plea deal that would keep him out of prison and off the sex offenders registry after he was charged with sexually abusing a 52-year-old grandmother at his Middle Village district office in July.
Candidates running for the seat include Republicans Thomas Ognibene, a 2005 mayoral candidate and former City Councilman; Anthony Como, a commissioner with the city's Board of Elections and aide to state Sen. Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale); and Joseph Suraci, a Middle Village attorney who has run against state Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood).
The Democrats in the race are Elizabeth Crowley, a cousin of U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) who ran against Gallagher in 2001, and Charles Ober, vice president of the Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association.
