For months, City Councilman Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) has held fund-raisers and politicked behind the scenes, but never formally stated the obvious - he is challenging Republican state Sen. Serphin Maltese this fall.
Turns out, Addabbo was just waiting for his bus.
Taking a page out of the campaign playbook of presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain, Addabbo kick-started his highly anticipated senate bid over the weekend by riding a school bus from Howard Beach to Maspeth and back again - giving short speeches and glad-handing residents along the way.
Addabbo's four-stop, four-hour tour of the 15th Senate District Sunday was like a Queens version of McCain's ballyhooed "Straight-Talk Express."
Addabbo has repeatedly pledged not to run a negative campaign.
The campaign-on-wheels stunt was also a clear attempt by Addabbo, whose council district encompasses most of the senate district's southern half, to spread his message in the district's northern portion.
"I always envisioned an announcement that encompasses all parts of the district," Addabbo told the Daily News, noting the bus trip was his idea. "This is a district that is double the size of my council district - and I am prepared to serve it."
Maltese, who is gunning for his 11th consecutive term, said he won't be renting a school bus anytime soon. "I don't need a school bus to go into the district," he said, "but I think that's a reasonably good gimmick."
Addabbo's journey through the district started at his campaign office in Howard Beach and then moved on to a rally at Peter Charles Park in Maspeth.
The bus then stopped on Myrtle Ave. in Glendale, where Addabbo plans to open a second campaign office.
From there, Addabbo & Co. swung by a Sikh center in Richmond Hill before pulling into a campaign party at a Chineese restaurant in Howard Beach.
Candidates for the state Legislature must file campaign disclosure statements tomorrow with the state Board of Elections. Addabbo said his war chest will be close to $175,000.
