By Jeremy Walsh
Queens has its first two openly gay City Council members now that Democrats Danny Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer have won election.
Dromm will replace outgoing Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights), whom he defeated in the Democratic primary. His Council district includes Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst and Jackson Heights.He won 9,702 votes, 74.6 percent of the turnout, compared with Republican Mujib Rahman’s 3,306, or 25.4 percent, according to preliminary figures from NY1.
“It’s a milestone in terms of achieving equality for LGBT people,” he said. “We’ve broken the glass ceiling and we now have our foot in the door.”
Van Bramer replaces Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside), who made an unsuccessful bid for public advocate. His district includes Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and part of Maspeth. He won 11,054 votes, or 70.4 percent of the turnout compared with Republican Angelo Maragos’ 3,725 votes, or 23.7 percent, according to NY1.
“I’m elated and really awed by the support that I received today,” Van Bramer said. “I’m very, very excited to get to work on the issues facing the 26th District.”
Dromm, 53, is a public school teacher and an active member of the borough’s gay rights community. He helped found the Queens Pride Parade and first won public election as a Democratic district leader in 2002.
Van Bramer, 40, is the external affairs director for the Queens Public Library. He first made a bid for the Council in 2001 when he unsuccessfully challenged Sears in her district.
After boisterous Democratic primaries, both Dromm and Van Bramer faced less powerful Republican opponents in the general election. Dromm’s opponent, Mujib Rahman, is a registered Democrat who ran on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines because he opposes gay marriage.
Dromm was pleased by the margin of victory over Rahman.
“He was completely repudiated and rejected,” he said. “It just proves that that type of hatred and bigotry has no place in a political race any longer.”
Van Bramer said he did not think Maragos’ attempts to link him to the disgraced nonprofit ACORN through the Working Families Party endorsement had much effect on voters.
“Ultimately the people of the 26th District cared about the issues that are local, the issues that people care about and need to have addressed in their daily lives,” he said. “I think people really wanted someone with a track record in the neighborhood.”
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
