By Tom Momberg
Joe Concannon officially announced the launch of his campaign for Mark Weprin’s City Council seat Monday outside the NYPD’s 105th Precinct in Queens Village, backed by both the Republican and Conservative party lines.
Concannon, a retired NYPD captain and U.S. Air Force veteran, said his family, friends and conservative supporters influenced his decision to enter the City Council race, which will follow the normal election cycle for a general election on Nov. 3.
After running against Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) in 2013 , Concannon said he again hopes to turn the tides in the City Council and to expand his party’s influence in the city. He also challenged state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) in 2012.
“I’ve spent a lifetime in commitment to public safety and security, both in public service and in the private sector,” Concannon said during a news conference. “I stood up, here in the city of New York, when our city mayor was tearing our city to shreds, I stood up in each one of our boroughs and said ‘support our local police.’ That is as important today as when I first started that message, and we will continue there.”
Present to announce their endorsements of Concannon were Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), former Queens Congressman and County GOP Chairman Bob Turner and Queens Conservative Party Chairman Tom Long.
Concannon has entered the race for the Council seat previously held by Weprin, who left to take an administrative job under Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He is focusing his attention toward the needs of police, families and domestic violence, as well as education and job creation. He said he expects to release full details of his campaign platform in the coming weeks.
Working on Concannon’s campaign are Campaign Manager Maureen Daly, who worked on Grant Lally’s GOP congressional campaign against Steve Israel in 2014, and Communications Director Liam McCabe, who worked for Michael Grimm’s last two Staten Island congressional campaigns, as well as for Ulrich’s 2009 campaign for City Council.
Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomb
