By Gina Martinez
Queens Republicans held a fund-raiser last week in support of their local candidates and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Queens GOP Night 2016 was held at Douglaston Manor Oct. 13 and was hosted by Bob Turner, the chairman of the Queens Republican party. At the event were the borough’s Republican candidates who gave speeches about their platforms and what to expect in the upcoming election. The candidates mingled with one another and gave out fliers and yard signs to garner support.
Queens only has one Republican lawmaker, Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) and the GOP candidates all admitted they were facing an uphill battle but were willing to fight. The candidates stressed the same point: that Queens’ Democratic officeholders tend to be all talk but offer no real solution.
Turner was particularly proud of this year, considering there are 21 Republican candidates running in 2016 as opposed to last year when there were only three. He said he thought their chances this year were good and now the borough’s constituents know that there is a choice, so they do not have to settle for the status quo. The candidates also pledged to support Trump, despite the Queens native’s controversial remarks about women.
The candidates all took the podium to introduce themselves and discuss their campaign platforms.
Hollis Hills resident Mark Cipolla is running against Tony Avella for the 11th state Senate District. in northeast Queens. Cipolla has had a legal career as an assistant district attorney and criminal prosecutor in Brooklyn for five years. Cipolla believes that he is a good alternative to Avella, who he describes as an “establishment” politician.
“Tony Avella, the guy I’m running against, he is a lifetime politician,” he said. “He’s been in office since 2010, and been in politics since he graduated college. He’s a big fan of using taxpayer money for things I don’t believe in.” Cipolla went on to say, “So while I have a grassroots campaign, raising money from neighbors, strangers, he’s getting big time money from his colleagues, from big time unions, corporations, and he somehow manages to sell himself as the ‘little guys’ candidate.’ I don’t get it.”
Ira Harris, who is running for the Assembly against David Weprin in District 24, also wants to see a change. He said that the Democrats are elite and don’t know what the people really want.
“Just like Cuomo they come out of college and they get some assistant job, work their way up and before you know it they hold a Council seat or a Senate seat. They don’t know what it’s like to make a buck, they don’t know what it’s like to make payroll, they make policies from 150 miles away.”
Jarret Freeman, challenging state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), is also running because he wants to offer the people of his district another option.
“A lot of people ask me ‘Jarret, why are you running?’ I say my desire to run is motivated by the level of complacency in my district,” he said. “I thought about the potential we can reach, what we can really accomplish and that’s why I’m running. When I see the people who are entrenched within our community, I think that that’s not a community or society that I want to be a part of. I really think that it’s not just going to be up to us as candidates but up to us as a community as to how we’re going to step out of our comfort zones.”
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
