After seven years in public office, former State Senator Hiram Monserrate no longer represents one of the most diverse communities in the borough, and that same community has very diverse viewpoints about his recent expulsion from the New York State Senate.
“He was supposed to be representing the people and his actions were inappropriate,” said Corona resident Jose Usuaga, 29. “If a regular citizen committed the same offense, he would get in worse trouble. As a politician, he is required to act a certain way and properly represent his people.”
However, East Elmhurst resident Juan Rosario, 45, has an opposite point of view.
“I feel that private matters should not be mixed with politics,” he said. “Monserrate represented the Latinos in the borough. He practically gave life to the Latinos in Queens when we had no representation.”
The variety of opinions on the fate of Monserrate before and after the historic February 9 legislative session where the Senate voted 53 to 8 to oust Monserrate began at the time of his arrest for assault on December 19, 2008. Monserrate has always maintained his innocence on the charges for slashing his girlfriend’s face, but people in his community and around the state had asked for his resignation. On October 15, 2009, a Queens judge found him guilty of misdemeanor assault – not the felony conviction needed for an automatic Senate expulsion.
But the temporary Senate Select Committee to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding Monserrate’s conviction issued a report on January 14, 2010 to recommend his expulsion and his colleagues voted him out.
“I think Monserrate deserved it because it shows the type of person he is,” said Kevin Perez, 22, of East Elmhurst. “He can’t be trusted. He made a lot of promises at the restaurant where I work, and he didn’t keep them.”
A woman, who did not want to be identified and lives in Jackson Heights, said that Monserrate “would have been found guilty of a more serious crime if he had been judged by a jury of his peers.” On the other hand, Jair Rio, also from Jackson Heights, felt sympathy for Monserrate because “everyone makes mistakes.”
“There are a lot of people who do far worse things,” Rio said.
At the end of the day, Monserrate’s ouster affects more than just his public image; it affects his community – an argument his lawyers will make in federal court. Currently, the 13th Senate District has no representation until the Special Election scheduled for Tuesday, March 16. That is, unless Monserrate wins an injunction to prevent the election from taking place.
“This is bad for us because we always need a representative,” said Lillian Espinal, a woman in her forties who lives in Jackson Heights. — Additional reporting by William Gallego
