By Nathan Duke
State Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza (D-Bayside) said Friday that she would not run for re-election this fall and three northeast Queens Democrats have already been named by a source within the party as potential opponents for her seat.
Carrozza, who was first elected to the Assembly in 1996, announced in a statement that she would not make another bid to hold on to her seat in November.
“It has been a profound honor to have represented the people of the 26th Assembly District for the past 14 years,” she said. “I have focused on the rights of seniors and holding insurance companies accountable. I plan to continue this advocacy as a full-time elder law attorney in the Bayside community.”
The assemblywoman would have faced off against Republican attorney Vince Tabone, who has already been endorsed by the Queens County GOP.
A source within the Queens County Democratic Party said that three names that have been floated to run against Tabone are Michael Sais, who is chief of staff for state Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria); New York state Young Democrats President Matthew Silverstein; and Steve Behar, a Bayside attorney who ran for City Council but lost to Kevin Kim in the Democratic primary for District 19.
Tabone had criticized Carrozza after a story broke last year that the assemblywoman had been living outside of the district at a home she and her husband owned in Glen Head, L.I., between March and June before moving back to the district in July.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
