Four Hard-To-Predict City Council Races

Halloran vs. Kim (19th City Council District): This is the most intense battle of the day, pitting two first-time office seekers against each other in a fight to succeed Councilmember Tony Avella, a Democrat who held the seat for eight years before deciding to run for mayor this year. The four closest City Council election races to be decided in Tuesday’s voting are in the 19th City Council District in Bayside, the 20th (Flushing), the 30th (Glendale/Middle Village) and the 32nd (Howard Beach/Ozone Park). They signify the intense effort by Queens Republicans to make some gains against the Democrats’ 13-to-1 edge in the borough’s city council delegation. It’s possible either side could sweep all four.

Halloran vs. Kim (19th City Council District): This is the most intense battle of the day, pitting two first-time office seekers against each other in a fight to succeed Councilmember Tony Avella, a Democrat who held the seat for eight years before deciding to run for mayor this year.

The combatants are Democrat Kevin Kim, a 39-year-old attorney and deputy director of community affairs on Congressmember Gary Ackerman’s staff for the past three years, and Republican Daniel Halloran, also an attorney, who has resided in the district all his life.

The ethnic difference between Kim, a Korean American, and Halloran, whose family has been in the district for 100 years, has become a central issue as Halloran has pointed out that Kim voted in the district only once, in the recent Democratic primary.

The issue recently flared up as Democrats said Halloran was using racially charged scare tactics by circulating flyers linking Kim to real estate developers and the overdevelopment in the area.

Halloran responded through a spokesman that overdevelopment is a huge issue in Northeast Queens, and has been during Avella’s tenure.

Koo has gained some attention by getting endorsements from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. More important, perhaps, Koo has also been endorsed by several Democratic district leaders and even one of the candidates from the Democratic primary election who was defeated by Chou. This recent breakout brought Councilmember and city comptroller candidate John Liu into the dispute on Kim’s side. Liu refuted the overdevelopment charge and compared it to former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s recent “coded message” that an increase in crime will follow William Thompson becoming mayor.

Giuliani, a Republican icon, has been campaigning for Halloran.

The district, which includes Bayside, Whitestone, College Point, Douglaston and Little Neck, an area of predominantly homeowners, which many times has favored Republicans.

The voting figures to break down along ethnic lines, with the large Asian American population backing Kim and traditional Caucasians backing Halloran.

Liu getting into the squabble at this late point can only assure Kim of maximum Asian American support as that group streams out to vote for Liu on Tuesday to help his election as the first Asian American to hold a high citywide official position.

On the other side, with Giuliani’s help and his ties to white ethnics, Halloran should be getting a large turnout of friendly voters, meaning perhaps a large crossover of usually Democratic voters.

It promises to be a very close finish.

Koo vs. Chou (20th City Council District): Another sharp battle involving Asian-American candidates is on tap in Flushing’s 20th Council District, where Yen Chou, a Democratic educator, is facing Peter Koo, a Republican who owns a chain of pharmacies, in the contest to replace Councilmember John Liu.

This is another election where there is no incumbent, just two candidates seeking public office for the first time.

Koo has gained some attention by getting endorsements from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. More important, perhaps, Koo has also been endorsed by several Democratic district leaders and even one of the candidates from the Democratic primary election who was defeated by Chou.

Liu has held the 20th Council District seat for the past eight years as the first Asian American elected to the city council. To our knowledge he has not endorsed Chou, the Democratic candidate in this race, for election, nor did he support her in the Democratic primary, in which his candidate was beaten by Chou. There’s no clear picture on whose side the Liu Democrats will wind up.

In his Bloomberg and Giuliani endorsements, Koo was noted for his successes as a small businessman and operator of five drug stores.

He was also endorsed by Democratic District Leaders Terrence Park, Martha Flores and Isaac Sasson, also a Democrat who was defeated in the primary. Koo’s ties to these supporters came from his activities on the local community board over a period of years.

Chou is a 46-year-old teacher and operator of a pre-school education center. She served previously on School Board 26. Chou has not been too visible during the campaign and the Gazette has never received any release from her.

According to a Koo campaign representative, Democrats outnumber Republicans by about five to one, and Asian Americans make up about half of the Democratic voter registration of the polyglot area which also includes middleclass Caucasians, blacks, Hispanics and South Asians.

The voter turnout on election day should be heavy as Asian Americans come out to cast a vote for Liu, who would be the first of their ethnic group in history to be elected to a high-level government position in New York City.

In a late development in the campaign, Koo promised that if elected, he would donate his $112,500 annual city council salary to the community. The 20th Council District covers the Queensboro Hill, Mitchell Gardens, Kissena Park, Auburndale sections of Flushing.

Koo stated, “During my campaign, I have visited many senior centers, schools, and community facilities where important programs are provided to residents. All have expressed their concern regarding budget cuts, limited funding and ability to survive during these difficult economic times. Therefore, when elected I will donate my salary to help alleviate some of the financial burdens of many of our community groups and assist them in keeping their important programs operational.”

Ognibene Tries to Unseat Crowley. After more than two decades of Republican representation of the Glendale/Middle Village/Ridgewood areas in the city council, incumbent Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, a Democrat, won the 30th Council District seat last November and is now trying to maintain her hold on it for four more years.

However, Tom Ognibene, a Republican who held the seat for about a decade in the 1990s, is attempting a comeback against Crowley in next Tuesday’s election.

Crowley, a cousin of Congressmember Joseph Crowley, made three attempts to win the seat in a 17-month period after Ognibene’s successor, Dennis Gallagher, quit the council. The 31-year-old lawmaker has tried to make the most of the opportunity, pushing a popular rezoning amendment hard and taking on several other community-based problems.

Crowley also championed several women’s issues, securing funds for a mammogram program and fighting for Medicare and Medicaid coverage for it. She also got a $2 million grant from the council for local classroom improvements.

Ognibene, a 67-year-old attorney, brought former Mayor Giuliani for a day of campaigning to try to stir up the old GOP leanings in the district.

Crowley countered with an endorsement from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that came on the heels of an Italians for Crowley rally at which 50 Italian Americans voiced their feelings for the candidate seeking re-election.

Crowley also campaigned with Congressmember Anthony Weiner (D–Queens/Brooklyn), whose district includes Middle Village. Crowley and Weiner held a rally at the Middle Village Adult Center, where they urged seniors to get behind Weiner’s drive to get a Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) for seniors this year.

During a campaign tour with Giuliani in Woodhaven, Ognibene recalled how the Republican mayor had achieved reductions in crime and cut welfare rolls.

Giuliani praised Ognibene as a leader in the city council during his terms in office and called on voters to return him to his former post as 30th Council District representative.

Ognibene has to try to revive the old Republican spirit that once was alive in the district. Crowley is doing her best to highlight her achievements since being elected.

Gulluscio Tries To Unseat Ulrich. In January 2008, after Joseph Addabbo Jr. gave up his 32nd Council District seat and was sworn in as a state senator, a 23- year-old Republican named Eric Ulrich took on a quartet of older pols, including 61-year-old Community Board 6 Chairman Frank Gulluscio, and pulled off a special election upset to take Addabbo’s former seat.

Next Tuesday, Ulrich will be facing Gulluscio again as he seeks re-election to a full four-year term, but this time it will be one-on-one. Gulluscio has been endorsed again by Addabbo, the top Democrat in the council district covering Howard Beach, Ozone Park and Rockaway Beach.

This time, Ulrich will find defeating Gulluscio more difficult. He’ll be facing an electorate that boasts a two-to-one Democratic registration advantage over Republicans. Gulluscio, with Addabbo’s assistance, will be pulling those Democratic voters out to the polls on Tuesday, and it will be difficult for Ulrich to counteract that kind of political strength.

Addabbo’s name was brought into the campaign during a recent Ulrich/Gulluscio debate on a cable television station.

Ulrich charged during the debate that Addabbo didn’t deliver on a promise to get funding to provide additional sanitation services along Liberty Avenue, the main thoroughfare in Ozone Park. The comment brought a sharp retort from Gulluscio, who was a top aide to Addabbo while Addabbo was in the city council. When Addabbo heard of the Ulrich charges, according to a published report, he denied ever promising the funds, but said he had already secured $47,000 in the budget earmarked for a cleanup of Liberty Avenue between 104th and 115th Streets.

Ulrich is considered to have a bright political future among Queens Republican leaders, but he’s facing a stern test on Tuesday, considering that former Republican state Senator Serphin Maltese was defeated last year by Addabbo.