PERALTA IS OUR PICK

            As The Queens Courier covered the shameful personal affair of then-State Senator Hiram Monserrate and his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, from the beginning we noticed two things.

            First, that Assemblymember Jose Peralta was everywhere, fighting against domestic violence, hate and sexual orientation crimes, and also supporting the rights of workers.

            Second, Monserrate was fighting different battles – he had already been accused of assault, many people had begun to write him off, some feared him, and after last June’s disgraceful Senate coup in Albany, his Democratic colleagues no longer trusted him.

            Additionally, we noted that Monserrate lost touch with his community along the way. He voted against the bill in the Senate that would have allowed same sex couples to marry.

            During the year, The Queens Courier has given impartial and fair coverage to both politicians, with obviously more coverage to Monserrate during his days in the Queens County Criminal Court and during his clownish coup attempt that turned our Legislature into a national joke.

            On various occasions, Monserrate and his associates had questioned the reporting of The Queens Courier, claiming that we did not know the entire story. However, when we tried to get comments or schedule interviews with the ex-senator to clear up matters, he was too busy or we were told “the senator has no comment on the matter.”

            But finally, Monserrate, with all of his apologies to girlfriend Karla Giraldo for the incident on December 19, 2008, still has not apologized to his constituents for how aggressive he was towards her, as shown in the video evidence from his apartment building.

            The Queens Courier endorses Peralta because throughout this the whole incident, he and his staff have shown us that they work with dignity, integrity, dedication and passion for their community.

            Peralta is a proven politician and has been a member of the State Assembly since 2002. He knows the community and understands its needs and will fight hard for his constituents in Albany, especially during the looming budget-cutting process and beyond.

            So on Tuesday, March 16 if you live in the 13^th Senate District, you should vote for Jose R. Peralta and regain a true representative in Albany and not an abusive buffoon.