By William Lewis
In Queens this year, where much effort is being spent to defeat incumbent veteran state Sens. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) and Serphin Maltese (R-Glendale), the opposite is true in the 16th State Senate District, which includes Flushing, Bayside, Whitestone, Fresh Meadows and Rego Park.
There, Republican challenger Peter Koo is making an all-out effort to win an upset victory over incumbent state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone). The result of these three important races may decide which of the two major political parties controls the state Senate in January 2009.
Koo is relatively new to politics. He is a Flushing businessman who owns five pharmacies. Within his community, he is a Community Board 7 member, Queens District Attorney Community Advisory Board member and LaGuardia Community College Foundation trustee.
In terms of the overall political situation in Queens, he has said that since the Democratic Party controls most of the borough's elective offices, there are no checks and balances in place between the two major political parties. Koo, in addition to being the Republican candidate, also has the Conservative and Independence party endorsements, which gives him a strong ballot position.
Regarding issues, Koo favors a cap on property taxes and indicated that if there are increases, they should not exceed 4 percent. He also favors a ceiling to be placed on property taxes for people who have lived in their homes for long periods of time.
Koo favors having more of a police presence in the community, especially at night. He believes in the death penalty for criminals convicted of killing police officers. He wants to see more effort put into confiscating illegal handguns. Koo has received an important endorsement from the state and city Police Sergeants Benevolent Association, which has over 10,000 current and retired members.
He wants to improve public school education standards. He believes schools are overcrowded and smaller class sizes should be an educational goal. If elected, he intends to work on obtaining more state funds for local education needs. He intends to direct efforts in obtaining more jobs for his constituents.
Koo has mentioned that unlike his opponent, he is a lifetime businessman with considerable experience in that sector, especially relating to health care issues. He intends to be accessible to the people of his district when it comes to assisting them with community problems. He indicated that his campaign office has already assisted several senior citizens.
In the recent Democratic Party primary election held in the 16th State Senate District, Stavisky defeated insurgent Democratic candidate Robert Schwartz. Schwartz, however, did obtain 34 percent of the vote in that primary, which shows that Koo has a possible Democratic base of support to appeal to.
Koo believes his campaign is moving well with an enthusiastic campaign staff composed of young people. His campaign manager is Oliver Tan, who has worked in the Pataki administration. Tan's mother, Meilin Tan, is a Republican district leader in the 22nd State Assembly District in Flushing. Oliver Tan expressed optimism about their chances in the forthcoming general election.
“In the end, voters will decide this election,” Koo said. “I have more real working experience than my opponent and I demonstrate a proven record of community service for seniors and the average citizens of my district.”
As in other Queens races, the impact of the presidential race will be felt and influence the results of this state Senate campaign. This is true since there is no gubernatorial or U.S. Senate races in New York this year. The Queens election campaigns this year are some of the most interesting we have had in years.
