We are still months away from the November elections, but before things get heated with too many political messages and ads, it is imperative for voters to take note of former Democratic City Councilman Tony Avella, who is vying to run against state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose).
In 2009, when Councilman and former Black Panther member Charles Baron (D-Brooklyn) decided that he may run for the Council speaker’s seat, almost all Council members abstained from giving him support because Barron has a long record of drumming up anti-Semitic and racist sentiments. But the only Council member to support Barron was Avella, who helped form the “Barron/Avella New York City Council Democratic Reform Movement.” In May, when Barron compared Gaza to “a concentration death camp,” Avella did not see a need to denounce his friend’s statement.
A few years ago, Barron introduced a bill in the Council that would have named a street in the city in memory of nationally known anti-Semite and racist Sonny Carson, who few New Yorkers remember in a good light. Avella — not surprisingly — joined the most radical members to vote to fulfill the wish of a known anti-Semite to put in memory the name of someone who was an instigator of hate in the city and architect of the bloody Crown Heights riots. Due to Avella’s actions, it is known within the Democratic Council caucus that Barron always had a loyal vote to support him in his hateful agenda.
The last thing that we in Queens need is to send to Albany someone who was ready to give the second most-powerful city seat — the speaker’s post — to an outspoken anti-Semite. In this critical year, when every seat hangs in the balance on all levels of government, we cannot afford to send to Albany a person who supports and supported divisions and anti-Semitic rhetoric.
Whatever one’s political party affiliation may be, it is certain that where Avella comes into play, one needs to vote the other way.
Charles Gold
Flushing
