City Council hopeful Paul Vallone is taking issue with a published report that suggests that he committed electoral fraud.
The headline of the story reported in the New York Daily News, “City Council candidate Paul Vallone voted in two different Queens districts, Astoria and Flushing” is “completely misleading,” he said.
“It makes it sound like I voted twice – that never happened,” he said.
The youngest son of former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. and brother of Astoria City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. said it was “no secret” that he continued to use his old address – at his parent’s home in Astoria – for voting, even after he and his wife Anna Maria bought a house in Flushing in 1996.
According to Board of Election records, he continued to vote in Astoria until he changed his registration to the Flushing address in 2004. He voted in Flushing in 2005 and has voted there since, Vallone said.
He is now a candidate for the Democratic nomination to City Council in the 19th District in northeast Queens, which includes parts of Flushing, as well as College Point, Whitestone, Bayside, Douglaston and Little Neck.
Vallone’s residence has become an issue in the campaign, where five other Democrats and a Republican are vying for the seat left open by the mayoral run of Councilmember Tony Avella.
“It shows this district hasn’t been his primary concern,” said lawyer Steve Behar, a Democrat running against Vallone. “He’s running here simply out of convenience.”
Vallone dismissed such allegations as “politics,” saying that it was a family matter. “We were spending time in both Astoria and Flushing. It was a very chaotic period in our lives,” Vallone said.
“Our oldest daughter Katena was diagnosed with a serious illness and had several life-saving surgeries during that time. In 2003, I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis – we needed the support of my family,” he said.
Sarcoidosis is a disease involving the immune system, which can be fatal. More frequently, the disease goes into “remission,” meaning the victim still has it, but it does not manifest itself. “I’m fine now,” Vallone said.
Vallone works at the family’s law firm in Astoria, and worked on political campaigns for his father and brother during the period in question, he said.
During that time, he was also a member of Community Board 1, which covers Astoria. According to the Handbook for Community Board Members, “New York City residents who live in or have a business, professional or other significant interest in the district,” can belong.
“I have been working to help people in both communities for years,” Vallone said. “When people ask me for help, I don’t ask them what zip code it is.”
