The Republican Party's already anemic presence in the City Council could shrink after Council Member Dennis Gallagher of Queens, who pleaded guilty yesterday to "forcibly touching and sexually abusing" a 52-year-old woman, resigns his office.
His resignation will take effect at the end of the day on April 18. State election law requires Mayor Bloomberg to call for a special election in the coming weeks to replace Mr. Gallagher, one of just three Republicans in the 51-member City Council.
Local Republicans, trying to avoid losing any seats in the council, are gearing up for a fight. "Oh yeah, I think it's going to be a race," the chairman of the Queens County Republican Party, Phil Ragusa, said yesterday. "We don't want to lose that seat and we're going to work hard to maintain it."
Mr. Ragusa said the county party is pinning its hopes on Anthony Como, the commissioner of the Queens County Board of Elections and a former assistant district attorney, to hold the seat. Mr. Como previously ran for state Assembly, losing to Andrew Hevesi, the former state comptroller's son, in 2005.
A former council minority leader, Thomas Ognibene, who represented Mr. Gallagher's district for 10 years, has expressed interest in running, City Hall News reported, though he has yet to register as a candidate for the 2009 elections with the city's Campaign Finance Board.
According to the Queens district attorney's office, Mr. Gallagher said that on July 8, while he was intoxicated, he "intentionally and forcibly touched intimate parts of the complainant and subjected her to sexual contact without her consent. My conduct was wrong, and I apologize to the complainant. I intend to continue treatment for my alcohol abuse."
Republicans are saying Mr. Gallagher's problems should not tarnish the party's brand as they seek to retain the council seat.
"The sins of the father should not be put on the son," Mr. Ragusa said.
At least one Democratic challenger has already announced that she will vie for Mr. Gallagher's seat. Elizabeth Crowley, a program director at the Consortium for Worker Education, a nonprofit labor advocacy group, said she is prepared to run in the coming special election. Ms. Crowley, a cousin of Rep. Joseph Crowley of Queens and the daughter of two former council members, Walter and Mary Crowley, ran unsuccessfully against Mr. Gallagher in 2001, losing by about 5,000 votes. "I feel I was the best candidate then, but it was right after 9/11 and people were concerned, I think, with the fact that I was only 23," Ms. Crowley said yesterday in an interview. "But I'm 30, and in the past seven years I've worked hard in my community. Now my age is on my side."
According to public filings from January, Ms. Crowley has already raised $70,770 toward a council run, making her a formidable opponent for the Republicans, none of whom have reported gathering any funds yet. Another Democratic candidate registered for the 2009 race, Angelo DiGangi, an attorney, reported that he raised $12,558 in the same period.
Mr. Gallagher is not the first council member to face accusations of sexual impropriety in recent years, although he is the only one to be convicted of a crime. In 2005, Democrat Alan Jennings Jr. of Queens was censured and stripped of his committee posts after five women accused him of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior. The previous year, Republican Vincent Gentile was accused of sexual harassment by his chief of staff, but the council took no action.
NYC Councilman Agrees to Resign, Pleads Guilty to Sex Abuse -- Newsday.comNEW YORK - A city lawmaker agreed Monday to resign from the New York City Council after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a woman he met at a bar in his Queens district.
Republican Dennis Gallagher pleaded guilty Monday to forcible touching and sex abuse, both misdemeanor offenses, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.
Gallagher, 43, will not have to serve any time if he resigns from his council post, effective April 18, and completes an alcohol treatment program.
"While I was intoxicated, I intentionally and forcibly touched intimate parts of the complainant and subjected her to sexual contact without her consent," Gallagher said in court. "My conduct was wrong and I apologize."
The victim, who was in court, did not speak but issued a statement that was read aloud.
"I will never recover from the pain, anguish and humiliation I suffered as a result of this man's vicious assault and attack on me," her statement said. "He has scarred me for life and he took away my dignity and self-esteem."
In exchange for his plea, Gallagher will not have to register as a sex offender. He was ordered to stay away from the victim.
Gallagher, elected to the council in 2001, is one of three Republicans in the 51-member body. He lives in the Middle Village section of Queens with his wife and two sons.
The plea deal was reached after an indictment accusing the councilman of rape and assault was dismissed in January by a judge who said that prosecutors asked Gallagher improper questions before the grand jury.
The district attorney said at the time that he would present the case to another grand jury, noting that the judge had said there was sufficient evidence presented to support the charges.
The councilman had acknowledged an encounter with his accuser but said it was consensual. His accuser told authorities Gallagher offered to drive her home after they met in the bar, but instead took her to his Queens district office, where he attacked her.
In a statement Monday, his lawyers, Benjamin Brafman and Christopher Renfroe, said, "Mr. Gallagher has always maintained that he did not commit the crime of rape. Today's proceedings, however, embarrassing, should put that false allegation to rest once and for all."
Admitting Sexual Abuse, City Councilman Resigns - New York Times
City Councilman Dennis P. Gallagher resigned from office and pleaded guilty on Monday to two misdemeanors, admitting that he sexually abused a woman in his district office in Middle Village, Queens, last summer while he was intoxicated.
Mr. Gallagher, 43, a Queens Republican, told the court in a non-emotional tone that he touched the 52-year-old victim against her will, a position in contrast to his earlier claims that they had consensual sex after meeting in a bar. Prosecutors in the office of the Queens district attorney, Richard A. Brown, said the plea deal required that Mr. Gallagher enter and complete an alcohol treatment program.
“On Sunday, July 8, 2007, while I was intoxicated, I intentionally and forcibly touched intimate parts of the complainant and subjected her to sexual contact without her consent,” Mr. Gallagher said during the 11:30 a.m. proceeding in Queens Criminal Court in Kew Gardens. “My conduct was wrong, and I apologize to the complainant.”
In announcing his resignation in court, Mr. Gallagher said it would be “effective close of business on Friday, April 18, 2008.”
The plea deal required Mr. Gallagher to plead guilty to the misdemeanors and pay a court surcharge of $160. He was not required to register as a sex offender, officials said, and he will not serve jail time.
The developments will open a seat on the 51-member City Council, and jockeying to fill it began immediately, with candidates emerging from both parties.
Mr. Gallagher, who is married and has three children, was one of three Republicans on the Council, a seat he first won in 2001. Though he remained in office as his case wound through the courts, his party had temporarily removed him from his leadership and committee posts.
The resignation, guilty plea and apology were welcomed by the victim’s lawyer.
“It’s good news to the citizens and residents of New York City not to have this gentleman as a public official anymore, and we welcome that,” the lawyer, Arnold W. Drucker, said after the proceeding.
Mr. Drucker declined to say if he believed Mr. Gallagher was treated lightly.
“In our society, the victims of crime don’t get to determine the punishment,” he said. He said his client would decide later whether she would pursue a civil case.
The victim, who was not identified because of the nature of the attack, attended the court proceeding before Judge Robert M. Raciti. She did not speak, but her statement was read in court by a prosecutor, Kenneth A. Appelbaum.
“I will never recover from the pain, anguish and humiliation I suffered as a result of this man’s vicious assault and attack on me,” Mr. Appelbaum read.
“He has scarred me for life, and he took away my dignity and self-esteem,” Mr. Appelbaum continued. “He is a sexual abuser.”
The victim said in her statement that it was “disappointing and disgusting” when a public official “betrays our trust by behaving reprehensibly and immorally.”
“That is what is so shameful,” the statement continued. “This man should never be put in a position of trust again.”
A lawyer for Mr. Gallagher, Benjamin Brafman, told the court that “the humiliation felt in this case went both ways.” He criticized the fact that his client was initially charged with raping a woman, though Mr. Appelbaum said in court that the initial charges “were sustained by a legally sufficient quantum of evidence.”
Outside court, however, Mr. Brafman said: “This was never a rape case. There was never a rape. He should never have been charged with rape.” He said Mr. Gallagher has a “drinking problem.”
The special election to fill Mr. Gallagher’s seat — which must take place within 45 days after his resignation is declared official by the mayor — is officially a nonpartisan contest. The City Charter forbids candidates to use the names of established political parties in special elections, in an effort to minimize the influence of the parties.
Nonetheless, party affiliation, and the power behind it, is clearly likely to play a role in the special election.
On the Republican side, there is Mr. Gallagher’s predecessor, former City Councilman Thomas V. Ognibene, who left his seat in 2001 because of term limits. Mr. Ognibene, the former Republican leader in the Council, has been Mr. Gallagher’s primary political benefactor.
Another Republican who is planning to run for the seat is Anthony Como, a commissioner with the city’s Board of Elections. Mr. Como, who once worked as an assistant district attorney in Queens, ran for an Assembly seat in 2005, losing to Andrew Hevesi, the son of former State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi.
Mr. Como has the support of the Queens Republican organization, whose chairman, Philip Ragusa, noted that Mr. Ognibene had been far less involved in the party leadership than Mr. Como. “Tom has not really been involved in the last few years in the party,” Mr. Ragusa said.
On the Democratic side, there is Elizabeth Crowley, a cousin of Representative Joseph Crowley, the Queens Democratic Party chairman.
She is also the daughter of Walter and Mary Crowley, each of whom once represented many of the same Queens neighborhoods — Middle Village and Ridgewood — in the City Council. She is a member of the local chapter of the Building Trades Council, a decorative painter and home restorer.
