By Joe Anuta
Members of the Queens County Republican Party appear to be at odds with each other at all levels following a political coup earlier this year.
Rank-and-file members who are fed up with turmoil at the highest levels of the borough and citywide party have discussed banding together on a more grassroots level to bring some cohesion to the political process, according to a GOP source who spoke with TimesLedger Newspapers on the condition of anonymity. The party leadership disputed this claim.
Instead of a top-down approach to leadership, some members of Republican clubs from all different areas of the borough have discussed bringing members, which include petition-carriers who often gather signatures for various candidates, together on their own terms, according to the political insider.
But Queens Chairman Phil Ragusa dismissed that talk, saying he is confident the rank-and-file will come out this year to carry petitions for the county’s pick for mayor, grocery store magnate John Catsimatidis.
“I don’t think there is anything to that,” he said. “I speak to district leaders on a current basis and the ones I speak to are backing John.”
The GOP leadership in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan are all backing the Greek-born candidate, who eventually worked his way up to becoming a billionaire, according to Ragusa.
But the four Republican city councilmen who make up the legislative body’s minority caucus — Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone), Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), James Oddo (R-Staten Island) and Vincent Ignizio (R-Staten Island) — have unanimously backed former Metropolitan Transportation Authority head Joe Lhota.
The members of the caucus have been at odds with the counties in the wake of a political power play earlier this year involving the city Board of Elections.
The board is headed by 10 commissioners, which is split evenly into five Democrats and five Republicans. Each borough picks one GOPer and one Democrat to send to the commissioner, with the respective parties deciding who gets the seat.
Normally, the parties pick someone loyal, so that commissioner can hire other party loyalists for patronage positions, according to numerous sources.
But at the end of 2012, the Queens Republican Party did not file paperwork to keep its pick, a woman named Judith Stupp, on as a commissioner.
That left a legal door open for three of the four GOP councilmen to appoint a commissioner loyal to them, a man named Michael Michel. Halloran voted to replace commissioners in other boroughs, but not in Queens.
Ulrich has long been at odds with the current GOP leadership, but the state Republican Party said it does not get involved in local disputes among county organizations unless its help is asked for.
“As with any family, there will always be differences and disagreements, but the state party will continue to work with each of our county organizations to promote the pro-growth policies that New York needs to create jobs and get our economy moving again,” said Communications Director David Laska.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
