While the weather lately has turned Queens into something resembling a frozen tundra, the campaign to fill Mark Weprin’s vacant Assembly seat in the special election on February 9 is heating up.
The campaigns of civic leader Bob Friedrich and former City Councilmember David Weprin have traded punches, ranging from the substantive to the ridiculous, as happens in contested races.
Weprin’s camp has brought up Friedrich’s fundraising disclosures, while Friedrich has taken Weprin to task for his record of tax hikes and the City Council slush fund scandal that occurred when he was Finance Committee chair.
Special elections in the dead of winter draw meager turnout – usually around 10 percent. With 68,000 registered voters in the 24th Assembly District, turnout should be around 6,800, meaning approximately 3,400 votes is all that’s needed to win.
Therefore, the name of the game is – getting out the vote.
Friedrich’s base of support is the Glen Oaks co-op, where he is the president. It is home to more than 4,500 registered voters. Weprin would count on the 3-1 Democratic to Republican enrollment advantage and his name recognition is a district his family has represented since the Nixon administration.
One group that the Friedrich campaign has made an effort to reach out to are Southeast Asian-Americans, a growing constituency in Eastern Queens, particularly in Floral Park and Bellerose, home to an increasing number of Sikhs.
Many Southeast Asian-Americans are small business owners who would respond favorably to Republican messages of lower taxes, cutting red tape and reducing government bureaucracy.
Of course, in a low turnout special election, it’s all about who can get more of their supporters out to the polls. Expect the results to be tight.
Weprin has already said that if he were to lose, he would run against Friedrich again in November. – See Editorial Endorsement on page 36
