Pick Your Next President, State Reps.
Voters across the city, state and country will get the last word on the 2012 presidential, congressional and statewide campaigns this Tuesday, Nov. 6, when they head to their local polling place to cast their Election Day ballots.
Polls will be open this Tuesday from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. To find a polling place or for assistance on voting, call the Board of Elections at 1- 212-VOTE-NYC or visit their website at www.vote.nyc.ny.us.
While the bulk of the attention focuses on the presidential race, there are two particularly notable contests for elected offices in the Times Newsweekly’s coverage area which will be decided by voters this Tuesday.
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo is facing City Council Member Eric Ulrich, both of whom hail from Ozone Park, in the hotly-contested battle for the 15th State Senate District seat, which covers parts of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Lindenwood, Howard Beach, Broad Channel and part of the Rockaways. Addabbo is running on the Democratic and Working Families party lines, while Ulrich appears on the ballot for the Republican, Conservative and Independence parties.
The contest for the open, all- Queens Sixth Congressional Seat pits Democratic Assemblywoman Grace Meng of Flushing against Republican City Council Member Daniel Halloran of Whitestone. The Sixth Congressional District covers parts of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens and eastern Queens neighborhoods.
White House and Capitol Hill
Of course, topping the ballot this year in New York and across the U.S. is the presidential race, with the Empire State having 29 electoral votes on the line. The incumbent ticket, Democratic President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, is seeking a second term against their respective Republican rivals, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.
There are also a host of third-party presidential tickets also on the ballot for voters to choose from. The tickets for president and vice president, respectively, include Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala for the Green Party, Peta Lindsay and Yari Osorio of the Socialism and Liberation Party, Gary Johnson and James P. Gray of the Libertarian Party and Virgil Goode and Jim Clymer of the Constitution Party.
New Yorkers will also choose a Senator to serve on Capitol Hill for the next six years. The incumbent Democrat, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, is seeking her first full term in the Senate against her Republican challenger, Manhattan attorney Wendy Long. Third-party Senate candidates include Colia Clark of Manhattan (Green Party), Chris Edes of Rochester (Libertarian Party) and John Mangelli of Bayville (Common Sense Party).
The Sixth Congressional District and all of the other realigned Congressional seats will also be up for grabs this Election Day. The House races in the Times Newsweekly’s coverage area include the following:
– Fifth Congressional District seat (parts of Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, southeast Queens and the Rockaways)-Rep. Gregory Meeks, the incumbent Democrat, is facing two challengers: former City Council Member Allan Jennings Jr., the Republican nominee, and Catherine Wark of Kew Gardens, the Libertarian candidate;
– Seventh Congressional District seat (Woodhaven, Ridgewood, Glendale, Bushwick and areas of northern Brooklyn and southern Manhattan)- incumbent Rep. Nydia Velazquez, seeking another term in Congress on the Democratic and Working Families party lines, is facing James Murray of Brooklyn, the Republican nominee.
– Eighth Congressional District seat (Ozone Park, Lindenwood, Howard Beach and areas of central Brooklyn)-Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, the Brooklyn Democrat and Working Families Party nominee, is being challenged by Alan Bellone of Brooklyn, the Republican and Conservative candidate, and Green Party nominee Colin Beavan of Brooklyn in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Edolphus Towns.
– 12th Congressional District seat (parts of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Maspeth, northern Queens and midtown Manhattan)- Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the incumbent Democrat who is also running on the Working Families party line, is running for re-election against Manhattan’s Christopher Wight, the Republican, Conservative and Independence nominee.
– 14th Congressional District seat (parts of Woodside, Astoria, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Corona, Jackson Heights and the Bronx)-Incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley, running on the Democratic and Working Families lines, is facing two challengers from the Bronx: William Gibbons Jr., the Republican and Conservative candidate; and Anthony Gronowicz, the Green Party nominee.
State Senate races
Along with the 15th State Senate District seat, all other seats in the Assembly and State Senate are also up for election this Tuesday. The other State Senate races in the Times Newsweekly’s coverage area include the following:
– 10th State Senate District seat (parts of Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Jamaica, southeastern Queens and the eastern Rockaways)-City Council Member James Sanders of Far Rockaway, who defeated incumbent State Sen. Shirley Huntley in September’s Democratic primary, is running unopposed.
– 12th State Senate District seat (parts of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Maspeth, Ridgewood, Glendale, Woodhaven and Ozone Park)-State Sen. Michael Gianaris, the Democratic and Working Families nominee, is seeking a second term in office against Tony Arcabascio of Astoria, the Republican and Conservative candidate.
– 13th State Senate District seat (parts of Astoria, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona)- State Sen. Jose Peralta, on the Democratic and Working Families party lines, is running unopposed.
– 14th State Senate District seat (parts of Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill and southeastern Queens)-State Sen. Malcolm Smith is running unopposed on the Democratic and Working Families party lines.
– 16th State Senate District seat (parts of Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park and Woodside and eastern Queens areas)-Incumbent State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky is seeking re-election in the realigned district on the Democratic, Working Families and Independence party lines against J.D. Kim of Flushing, the Republican and Conservative nominee.
– 18th State Senate District seat (parts of Bedford- Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Cypress Hills, East Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Williamsburg)-State Sen. Martin Malave Dilan is seeking another term in office on the Democratic party line against Republican and Conservative challenger Michael Freeman-Saulsberre of Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Contests for the Assembly
Most of the local Assembly members are running for re-election unopposed, but there are several seats in which incumbents are being challenged.
For the third consecutive election cycle, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, the incumbent Democrat representing the 30th Assembly District, is being challenged by Maspeth businessman Tony Nunziato, who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines. The district includes parts of Astoria, Sunnyside, Woodside, Maspeth, Middle Village and Rego Park.
Assemblyman Vito Lopez is also seeking re-election to the 53rd Assembly District seat (parts of Bushwick, East Williamsburg and Williamsburg). He is facing one challenger, Republican Richy Garcia of Bushwick.
Also facing a re-election battle is Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, the Democratic incumbent and Working Families party nominee, who is being challenged for her 37th Assembly District seat by Republican John Kevin Wilson of Sunnyside. The district covers parts of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside, Maspeth, Middle Village and Ridgewood.
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas is seeking her second term in the 36th Assembly District, which covers parts of Astoria, Long Island City and Woodside. The Democratic incumbent is being challenged by the Republican nominee, Julia Haich of Astoria.
Finally, Assemblyman Rafael Espinal is seeking his first full term in office as representative of the 54th Assembly District, which covers parts of Bushwick, Cypress Hills and East New York. The Democratic incumbent and Conservative nominee is facing Republican Khorshed Chowdhury of Bushwick.
The unopposed incumbent Assembly members in the Times Newsweekly coverage area who are assured re-election are the following:
– Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder of the 23rd District (parts of Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Lindenwood, Howard Beach, Broad Channel and the Rockaways);
– Assemblyman David Weprin of the 24th District (parts of Richmond Hill and central Queens);
– Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz of the 27th District (parts of Rego Park, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill and northeastern Queens);
– Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi of the 28th District (parts of Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill);
– Assemblywoman Michele Titus of the 31st District (parts of Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park and southeastern Queens);
– Assemblyman Michael Den- Dekker of the 34th District seat (parts of East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Corona and Woodside);
– Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry of the 35th District (parts of East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Corona and Rego Park);
– Assemblyman Mike Miller of the 38th District (parts of Ridgewood, Glendale, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park and Woodhaven); and
– Assemblyman Francisco Moya of the 39th District (parts of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Woodside and Corona).
Judicial races
Voters will also get a chance at choosing jurists to sit on the benches at courts in Queens. They will be listed on the backside of the standard paper ballot.
Among the judicial races on the ballot are the following:
– Justice of the Supreme Court, 11th Judicial District-Voters will get to select three from the following five candidates: Democrat Lawrence Cullen of Flushing, Republican Robert Beltrani of Jackson Heights, Democrat Leslie Purificacion of Maspeth, Republican Giovanni Silvangni of Middle Village and Democrat and Republican Charles LoPresto of Long Island City.
– Judge of the Civil Court for Queens-Democrats Donna-Marie Golia of Douglaston and Robert Caloras of Little Neck are running for the two seats on the line.
– Judge of the Civil Court, Fourth Municipal District-Democrat Ulysses B. Leverett of Jamaica is running unopposed.
– Judge of the Civil Court, Fifth Municipal District-Larry Love of Forest Hills is running unopposed on the Democratic, Republican, Conservative and Independence party lines.
Results of Tuesday’s contests will be published in next week’s (Nov. 8) issue of the Times Newsweekly.
