By Rebecca Henely
Despite the support of prominent Republican officials and raising more than three times the amount compiled by his opponent, Anthony Como lost his bid for a state Senate seat to incumbent Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), according to unofficial election results from NY1.
Jessica Proud, spokeswoman for Como, said he had not yet conceded the race as of 12:30 a.m. Wednesday but called Addabbo to congratulate him for being ahead. She said Como would not concede until the memory sticks in the machines could be examined, a process which can take two days.
“There’s just too many questions out there to really have an accurate picture of the race,” Proud said.
Addabbo, a former city councilman who became part of the state Senate in 2009, won 57 percent of the vote, with 92 percent of precincts reporting, NY 1 reported.
The senator said he was grateful for the win which he saw as an acknowledgment of the hard work he had done, and said he had a lot of work to do.
“I look forward to going back to Albany and doing the right thing for the people I serve,” Addabbo said.
Elsewhere in Queens, state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) won a full term for the seat he captured in a special election in March. With 83 percent of the districts reporting, Peralta handily beat his Republican opponent, lawyer Richard LaSalle, with 82 percent of the vote. Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) took over outgoing Sen. George Onorato’s (D-Astoria) seat, winning 82 percent of the vote over his Republican opponent, businessman Jerome Patrick Tina Jr., with 72 percent of districts reporting.
In the race against Addabbo, Como brought in some heavy Republican fire power with endorsements from former Gov. George Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who compaigned with him.
Como, who had a short stint on the City Council, had been a candidate for executive director at the city Board of Elections, but withdrew from consideration to run against Addabbo. Addabbo, the son of former U.S. Rep. Joseph Addabbo Sr., served six years on the Council before ousting Sen. Serphin Maltese in 2008.
The district they were running for encompasses Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village and Maspeth as well as sections of Ridgewood, Rego Park, South Ozone Park and Sunnyside.
Como raised $331,773 in this campaign, with much of the money coming from individual contributions. Addabbo raised $96,645, with some of the largest contributions coming from unions. Having raised so much money, Como nevertheless was in the black for expenditures with $301,285.98 spent but Addabbo went into the red with $149,871.43 spent.
During the campaign, Como requested that light be thrown on Addabbo’s involvement in the selection of the Aqueduct Entertainment Group for a state contract to build and operate a racino at the Aqueduct Race Track. Addabbo said the bulk of the flawed bid process took place before he came into office.
Besides Aqueduct, Como pushed a platform of reform, lower taxes and government transparency. Addabbo’s campaign, on the other hand, touted his record and involvement in the community.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
