Council picks: Queens
Tell your family and friends: On Sept. 12, New York City voters will go to the polls in a primary to decide who makes it to the general election. With registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans more than six to one, in most races, it’s the ballgame. Four years ago, even as a half dozen mayoral candidates vied to replace Mike Bloomberg, just one in five voters cast a ballot. This year, Mayor de Blasio has a handful of challengers, none of whom registers on the Richter scale, which will likely depress voting further.
As a result, in the City Council — where stiff liberal winds have been blowing for years now — incumbents, with institutional support at their back, are a virtual lock in most races.
The Daily News Editorial Board zeroed in on nine open seats. We interviewed candidates to identify smart, ethical standouts who offer the best chance of delivering a dose of pragmatism to a Council that’s often got its head stuck in the clouds.
We also focused on four races in which an incumbent faces a serious challenge (and in one additional race, a hateful nuisance).
Herewith, the first of our endorsements, set to stretch over the coming days, organized by borough — Queens first. n Queens’ 21st District, representing parts of College Point, Elmhurst, Flushing and other neighborhoods, a certified bum must lose. That is Hiram Monserrate, convicted in 2012 of federal crimes for redirecting about $100,000 in public funding toward a state Senate campaign.
If that’s not enough to get him elected slug for
Iall eternity, recall that in 2009 he brutally battered his girlfriend — a crime that led to his expulsion from the Senate.
His opponent, Francisco Moya, is a solid assemblyman who is especially passionate about improving science, technology and math education, and producing affordable housing on the fallow Willets Point site. Vote Moya, with feeling. he 28th District includes parts of Jamaica, Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park. The two best candidates looking to replace Ruben Wills — who, having been convicted of stealing public funds in July, is in jail — are Adrienne Adams and Richard David. Philosophically, both would be standard-issue members of the Council.
Adams loses our nod because she lacked the courage to challenge Wills when he was indicted and on trial. When he finally got convicted, she, with the county organization’s help, slid onto the ballot without getting a single signature on a single petition. She also loses points for strident opposition to all school co-locations — a position that, if acted upon, would throw thousands of city schools, district and charter alike, into turmoil.
David promises a “clean break from the past” of corruption, and is better poised to deliver. He brings nuts-and-bolts knowledge of city government, having served more than a decade in Mike Bloomberg’s Economic Development Corporation, and more recently in other agencies. He wants to reignite Jamaica’s central business district, makes a priority of ethics reforms and resists the urge to see every problem under the city’s sun as necessitating more spending.
Vote Richard David.
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