By Tom Momberg
Both candidates running for the vacant northeast Queens Assembly seat have been racking up a list of political endorsements, many of which they received back before the Democratic primary.
Republican Joe Concannon and Democrat Barry Grodenchik will be competing for the District 23 seat vacated by Mark Weprin earlier this year. The seat, which represents Bellerose, Glen Oaks, Bayside Hills, Queens Village and Hollis Hills, has been controlled by the Democratic Party for at least five decades.
A retired NYPD captain, Air Force veteran and data security entrepreneur, Concannon, who is running on both Conservative and Republican party lines, was recently endorsed by Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a GOP candidate in the 2014 governor’s race.
Other elected officials who have given their political support to Concannon include City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), state Sen. Marty Golden (R-Brooklyn) and former state Sen. Frank Padavan.
Concannon has also been endorsed by the Republican clubs of Queens Village, Northeast Queens, Whitestone and Rockaway, as well as by the Ronald Reagan Republican Club.
Leaders of the Queens County Republican and Conservative parties, the Conservative Party of New York, the Fire Marshal’s Benevolent Association of New York City and the Brooklyn Young Republicans, have also thrown their support to Concannon.
Among other political endorsements, Concannon has also received campaign support from the Indian American Intellectual Forum, the Latino National Republican Coalition and the fraternal law enforcement organization the Long Island Shields.
Former Flushing Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik, who is on leave as deputy director of community boards and parks for the Queens borough president, has also secured much support for his City Council bid.
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, a union with about 200,000 members in the city and on Long Island as well as an operation to get voters out to the polls every year, recently announced its endorsement of Grodenchik.
1199SEIU is the seventh major union endorsement secured by Grodenchik, following support from the United Federation of Teachers, the sanitation workers union Teamsters Local 831, the Transportation Workers Union Local 100, municipal public employee union DC 37, the Hotel Trades Council and the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York.
Grodenchik’s primary oponent Satnam Singh Parhar came out to endorse his nomination in the general election, as did the city’s Patrolmen’s Benebolent Association.
Grodenchik has also gained the backing of former Borough President Claire Shulman, current Borough President Melinda Katz, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-Hollis), state Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan (D-Ridgewood), City Councilwomen Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) and Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) as well as U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) and former Queens Congressmen Rev. Floyd Flake and Gary Ackerman, among others.
The third and final candidate on the ballot in November’s election is Rebecca Lynch. The Working Families Party candidate is no longer running a campaign since failing to secure the Democratic Party line in the September primary, but has the support of several political interest groups and workers unions representing members from throughout the city.
