Saturday, February 14, 2009

In Defense of Political Hardball in a Howard Beach Council Race by Azi Paybarah - Observer.com

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Getting your opponent knocked off the ballot has its practical benefits, but it won't necessarily make you popular, as City Council candidate Geraldine Chapey found out during a debate last night at the Saint Barnabas Church in Howard Beach.

Chapey filed a challenge and succeeded in knocking off the leading candidate in the race, Frank Gulluscio—an aide to Joe Addabbo, the councilman whose election to the State Senate created the current vacancy.

At last night’s debate, another candidate in the race, Eric Ulrich, asked Chapey, “Why do you feel Frank did not have the right to run for City Council?”

Chapey tried answering the question, and ended up getting shouted down the by the audience.

“You can shout up until tomorrow. It doesn’t matter,” she told them, saying it was the Board of Elections that ultimately made the decision.