Lancman, Alam Vie For Dem Nod In Flushing's 25 AD

Rory Lancman, a 37-year-old attorney, and Morshed Alam, a city engineer, are facing off in the Democratic primary for the 25th Assembly District nomination in East Flushing on Tuesday.

Lancman, a Democratic District Leader, will have the advantage in the contest, since he's running with the support of the Queens County Democratic organization.

Alam, 48, of Jamaica Estates, has held an engineer's position with the city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for four years. His organizational backing comes from the New Americans Democratic Organization of New York City. Chet Szarejko, a Democratic district leader in Eastern Queens, is one of Alam's chief supporters.

Both Lancman and Alam have run for public office once before. Both ran against state Senator Frank Padavan and lost. In his challenge to Padavan in the 1998 election, Alam received 42 percent of the vote, a relatively good showing for a first-time candidate against an established powerhouse like Padavan.

Lancman ran against Padavan more recently and didn't fare as well.

In their present encounter, Lancman has lined up a long list of endorsements. Alam's major endorsement came from District Council 37, the city's largest municipal union.

The 25th Assembly District seat is presently held by Assemblymember Brian McLaughlin who several months ago announced he would not run for re-election.- John Toscano