As Election Day draws near, candidates are ramping up their efforts to rally their supporters and reach new voters who will cast their votes on November 3.
In western Queens, incumbent Democrat Elizabeth Crowley and her Republican challenger Tom Ognibene are locked in a race for City Council District 30, and neither is showing signs of letting up in the last few weeks before the election.
Both candidates are campaigning in the traditional sense with mailings, train platform stumping and even door-to-door meet and greets, and, by Election Day, voters should be well-versed in the positions of both City Council hopefuls.
“I’ve got a community of people knocking on doors, making phone calls and doing what they can to remind people that I’m up for reelection,” said Crowley. “We run our campaign seven days a week. I believe voters will give me an opportunity to continue to work for them for the next few years.”
Ognibene is also ratcheting up efforts to energize his base.
“We’re going to local organizations, contacting as many people as we can,” he said. “We also have volunteers willing to drive voters to the polls. We provide transportation for seniors and others who may need it.”
This is not the first time that these two have matched up in an election. In June of 2008, Crowley and Ognibene were two of the four candidates running in a Special Election to replace Republican Councilmember Dennis Gallagher who resigned from office. During the Special Election, neither candidate emerged victorious with Republican Anthony Como edging out Crowley.
However, a few months later, Crowley defeated Como in the November election and she has represented District 30 in the City Council since January of this year. Crowley is confident that the community will give her an opportunity to continue the work she has already begun in the Council.
“My record as Councilmember shows that we work around the clock,” she said. “In a short amount of time, I’ve been able to get real results.”
While Crowley is running on her record, Ognibene is, in a sense, doing the same. He contends that while Crowley’s record looks impressive, looks can be deceiving.
“Miss Crowley takes credit for many things that were done by others,” he said. “I think she’s enamored with lip service rather than real service.”
Ognibene served as the District 30 City Councilmember from 1992 – 2001, and he believes that his record is much more concrete in terms of accomplishments.
“Take a look at my record,” he said. “What I did you can see it, you can touch it, you can believe it. There are concrete issues to address. Who is the best, who is the strongest voice, who has the ability to deliver on these issues?”
For her part, Crowley said that the community wants to see continued improvements in health care and education.
“If you ask the community, education and health care are a priority,” she said. “I have two sons in the local intermediate school and I know that parents are worried if their kids are getting the best possible care.”
