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Two candidates vying for the 30th District City Council had general objections raised to their petitions on Monday, May 5 - the last day to raise objections.
Anthony Gucciardo filed objections with the city Board of Elections to the petitions filed by Republicans Tom Ognibene and Joseph Suraci, while Dennis Metz also filed against Suraci.
Both Gucciardo and Metz have until Monday, May 12 to file their specific objections to the petitions.
Ognibene, who said he filed more than twice the number of petitions warranted by the Board of Elections, said he was not surprised or concerned about the objections and pointed the finger at one of his opponents, Republican Anthony Como, as the reason behind the challenge.
“No, I’m absolutely not [concerned],” said Ognibene hinting at close ties between Gucciardo and a staffer for Senator Serphin Maltese, who has endorsed Como. “Anthony is in absolute panic.”
Ognibene, Como and Suraci as well as Democrats Elizabeth Crowley and Charles Ober all filed petitions with the board by Wednesday, April 30. No one has challenged the signatures of either Democrat running in the race, although Ober thought Crowley supporters would challenge his signatures.
Meanwhile, Crowley officially kicked off her campaign with an event attended by many local Queens elected officials on Thursday, May 1, and she recently landed the endorsement of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
Shortly after former City Councilmember Dennis Gallagher’s resignation became official, Mayor Bloomberg called for a June 3 special election that will choose Gallagher’s replacement in District 30.
The winner of the special election will serve until November when another election is held to decide who will serve the remainder of Gallagher’s term.
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