The word on the street is that disgraced former Republican City Councilman Dennis Gallagher from Middle Village is advising the campaign of (??Democrat??) Nick Comaianni for State Assembly...
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When Michael Bloomberg visited the Flushing Mall the Saturday before Election Day, supporters crowded around him on stage, yelled wildly when he spoke, and encircled him and his security detail as they left.
Dennis Gallagher didn't. The former city councilman, who resigned his seat last year after admitting he sexually assaulted a woman in his Middle Village campaign office, stood inside the doorway of the mall, smiled, then walked down the hallway back to work.
That's where City Council candidate Peter Koo's campaign office was located, and also where Gallagher has quietly toiled away for months.
Since resigning his seat, Gallagher has gotten an insurance license and a job at Fidelity National Title. He also sells old memorabilia online, and, with much less notice, works as a political consultant.
"I was a very active consultant who helped devise and implement the strategy from day one" said Gallagher in a telephone interview Monday evening.
Gallagher declined to name the consulting firm. Campaign finance records show Koo's campaign made payments to consultants at one firm, J. Mac Associates.
The strategy for Koo, as Gallagher, described it, was to get as granular as possible, solidify the few Republican votes, and peel away Democrats disaffected by the contentious primary, which Yen Chou won with about 30 percent of the vote.
"I advised Peter Koo that the race could never be won if this was simply Democrats versus Republicans," said Gallagher. "We had to show what he thought, how he felt, and how he lived his life."
Koo "ran his campaign as an independent running on the Republican line, with strong Republican values and with some Democratic support. If we had come out with George Bush pieces of literature, we never would have won."
The broader message in the Koo victory, as Gallagher sees it, is that the "Republican Party is a party that can reach out in new immigrant communities. The Republican party has failed to do that. New immigrants that share our core Republican values" and Koo's victory "sends a signal that Republicans can get elected in overwhelmingly Democratic districts."
And the message of beating the odds isn't lost on Gallagher, whose own involvement in this race is one few could have predicted.
"In some instances, Peter encouraged me to be more out front, but I was the one who wanted a more behind-the-scenes role," said Gallagher. "I certainly didn't want to be an issue for him and his campaign."
Gallagher announced in March 2008 that he was resigning his seat the following month, after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse. A more serious rape charge against Gallagher was dismissed by the state supreme court on the grounds that the prosecutor unfairly prejudiced the grand jury.
Since that time, Gallagher has said he reconnected with his two children and grown a goatee. According to a friend, he's also lost some weight. The former councilman said he's enjoying life outside the public eye, but is looking to do more campaign work.
"One mistake in my life shouldn't overtake over 20 years of government and political service," said Gallagher. Before getting elected in 2001, Gallagher worked on several campaigns, including Bob Dole's (presidential), George Pataki's (gubernatorial), Serphin Maltese's (a successful write-in candidacy for State Senate!), and, he says, he ran his own campaigns for Council.
"I felt happy I was able to contribute to this race," he said, "and I can see myself continuing to run or manage a campaign."
Which is welcome news, according to Jimmy Oddo, the current minority leader in the City Council.
"Obviously, Dennis has made mistakes in his life and he has paid a heavy price for them," he said. "While people can question some of his decisions in his personal life in the past, they can never question his political acumen. He has a brilliant political mind."
But as Republicans celebrated a surprise victory in Flushing, they also saw a stunning defeat in Gallagher's old Middle Village district, once thought to be a Republican stronghold. Democrat Liz Crowley, who won narrowly won the seat in an election last year, fended off a challenge from Gallagher's old boss and former Councilman Tom Ognibene. How did that happen? "The Ognibene-Crowley race was won by Elizabeth because of the amount of work she put into the race," said Gallagher. "She clearly outworked Tom."
The city council has several second-generation members who have followed in the footsteps of their parents. But newly minted member Elizabeth Crowley has them doubly beat.
Both her father and mother served in the Council - though very briefly in 1985, and in a different seat than the one she now occupies after three hard-fought campaigns.
Crowley, 31, was sworn in Wednesday to represent Queens' 30th District, which includes Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth and parts of Ridgewood, Richmond Hill and Woodhaven.
Crowley, a Democrat, deposed Republican Anthony Como by 4,369 votes in November. Como had won the vacant seat in a special election last June by edging out Crowley by 41 votes.
The two could go head-to-head again this November, when the entire 51-member Council is up for election.
Crowley also lost a bid in 2001 for the same seat against Republican Dennis Gallagher, who resigned last year after pleading guilty to a sexual assault.
In welcoming remarks, Council Speaker Christine Quinn noted that Crowley was "the third member of her immediate family" to serve in the Council. "So we're very glad you're keeping this tradition going," Quinn said.
Crowley's father, Walter, was elected by the Council in January 1985 to fill a vacancy. But he died Sept. 24, 1985, at the age of 53 - just two weeks after winning the Democratic primary for reelection. The Council then named his widow, Mary, to fill out the three months left in that term.
That seat, now representing the 26th District, was won by Walter McCaffrey, who served until term limits forced him out in 2001. The current incumbent there is Democrat Eric Gioia.
Political veterans might remember that Walter Crowley had succeeded the now-late Thomas Manton when Manton became a Congressman in 1985. Manton had succeeded Geraldine Ferraro, who gave up her congressional seat to make her historic, though losing, vice presidential bid in 1984 on the Democratic ticket with Walter Mondale.
To add to the political pedigree that Elizabeth Crowley brings with her, she is a cousin of Rep. Joseph Crowley, who succeeded Manton both in Congress and as Queens Democratic boss.
In brief remarks before taking her oath, Elizabeth Crowley said she was proud to serve in the same chambers where her father and mother had served.
Noting she is one of 15 children, Councilwoman Crowley joked, "You have to imagine what it was like to grow up in the Crowley family. At the dinner table ... it was hard to get words in edgewise, but it has definitely prepared me for this opportunity."flombardi@nydailynews.com
Today is Elizabeth Crowley’s first day as a member of the City Council. After being sworn in in front of her new colleagues, Crowley said she knows what it’s like to be part of a big family.
“My parents had 15 children,” said Crowley, whose father and mother both also served in the City Council. “I know sometimes it can be a little dysfunctional, but at the end of the day, we work hard together.”
Crowley ousted Republican Anthony Como after narrowly losing to him in a special election last June. Crowley had also run, unsuccessfully, for the seat in 2001, when she lost to Dennis Gallagher.
Gallagher resigned after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a woman, which create the vacancy that Crowley eventually filled.
Elizabeth Crowley after voting on Tuesday, November 4 - Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Crowley campaign
Tuesday’s Democratic tidal wave has caused one incumbent Republican loss in New York City. City Councilman Anthony Como, one of three Republicans in the Council, was defeated by the Democratic candidate, Elizabeth S. Crowley, a developer of educational programs for nonprofit agencies.
That election in Queens was the only race for a Council seat yesterday. It followed a special election for the seat in June, after it was vacated by Dennis P. Gallagher. Earlier this year, Mr. Gallagher, who was elected in 2001, resigned after pleading guilty to two misdemeanors, admitting that he sexually abused a woman in his district office in Middle Village last summer while he was intoxicated.
Mr. Como is a former commissioner of the New York City Board of Elections and a former assistant district attorney in Queens. He was also a longtime aide to State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, a Republican.
In unofficial returns from the New York City Board of Elections, Ms. Crowley received 56 percent of the vote, with Mr. Como receiving about 44 percent.
Ms. Crowley is a cousin of United States Representative Joseph Crowley, who is also the Democratic Party chairman in Queens. She is also the daughter of Walter and Mary Crowley, each of whom once represented many of the same Queens neighborhoods in the City Council.
“I was cautiously optimistic going into this race, but now I’m feeling great,” Ms. Crowley said in an interview Wednesday afternoon.
“I seem to have gotten a strong vote in some of the traditionally conservative areas of the district, like Middle Village and Glendale, that supported McCain,” Ms. Crowley added. “So, it seems like they went to vote for McCain and switched over to vote for me. I’m really excited about this.”
Mr. Como could not be reached for comment this afternoon. No one answered the phones in either the councilman’s district office in Middle Village or his office near City Hall.
Ms. Crowley has sought to represent that Council district for some time. She was a candidate for the seat in 2001, losing to Mr. Gallagher. She ran again in the special nonpartisan election after Mr. Gallagher’s resignation in June of this year, losing to Mr. Como.
She narrowly lost that special election, she said, because there had been insufficient notice to voters about the race. “It came rather quickly after Dennis Gallagher resigned,” she said. “And a lot of people just didn’t know that the race was taking place. They didn’t get notified by the Board of Elections.”
But, with a presidential election at the top of the ticket, she said, it was hard for voters in the district not to know that an election was taking place.
“And for me,” she said, “it seems that the third time really is the charm.”
NY1 reports (and the WFP touts) the most freshman member of the City Council, Queens Republican Anthony Como, has decided not to support the term limits extension legislation, bringing the latest tally to:- 15, yes.
- 17, undecided.
This makes a lot of sense for Como, who is running for re-election next month. [His competitor Elizabeth Crowley released a statement last week saying she does not support the term limits extension legislation.]
Como, a former aide to Sen. Serphin Maltese, was elected to the 30th CD seat vacated by Dennis Gallagher in a tight special election race in June. He is again facing the same Democratic opponent he defeated in the special, Elizabeth Crowley, in the November general election.
There has been some talk of delaying the vote on the term limits vote until after Nov. 4 to give cover to the five Council members who are on the ballot.
Of those, three (Como being the latest, plus Addabbo and Gennaro, both running for state Senate) are in the "no" category. The others (McMahon and Monserrate) are so far undecided.
When Democrat Elizabeth Crowley campaigned in the June special election for former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher's seat, she avoided speaking directly to the press.
Her message was crafted by the Parkside Group, a high-powered political consulting firm, and its media-savvy consultants did all the talking.
But as she gears up for a November rematch with Anthony Como, who won that election, Crowley has been waging a conspicuously homespun and unchaperoned campaign.
Crowley told the Queens News she parted ways with the Parkside Group in order to save money and run a "grass-roots" effort.
"I lost by 38 votes and I said, 'What can I do differently?'" Crowley said, noting her new approach is to spend her money on "direct voter contact."
"It's the way that elections should be won - knocking on doors, meeting voters at train stops, going to community organizations," she said.
Crowley said of the Parkside Group: "Their mail and their campaign stuff is a lot more expensive than if I go to the printer myself and have something made."
But Como (R-Middle Village) took issue with Crowley's "new" mail. "She's at meetings handing out her old palm cards," he said.
The Crowley campaign gave The News a card at a candidates forum last week in Ridgewood. It reads: "Vote Crowley. Special Election. Tuesday, June 3rd."
"June 3rd" had been crossed off.
The 30th Council District - which includes Middle Village, Glendale and Ridgewood, with parts of Richmond Hill, Woodhaven and Forest Hills - has been in Republican hands since 1991.
A Democratic insider said Queens party bosses thought the best chance of claiming the seat was in the nonpartisan special election, in which Como and former GOP Councilman Tom Ognibene split GOP votes.
But it didn't happen. Now Queens Democrats - led by Crowley's cousin, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens) - have more important races to consider than Round 2 of Crowley vs. Como, the insider said.
But Michael Reich, the executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party, said Crowley has done well in fund-raising and has not been abandoned.
Democrat Elizabeth Crowley said she didn't think Republican Anthony Como was her "competition" in the June special election to replace City Councilman Dennis Gallagher until Como beat her by 38 votes.
With the way Como has raised money for their rematch in November, it seems the feeling could be mutual.
As of last week's filing deadline with the Campaign Finance Board, Crowley said she had raked in about $15,000. The newly minted councilman claimed enough for barely two tanks of gas - $100.
"My record is going to be all I need," Como said confidently, touting prompt successes in securing dollars for his district.
Though he arrived at City Hall near the end of budget talks, Como said he netted more than $3 million in capital funds, including money for upgrades at Juniper Valley Park and Forest Park.
He said he also got big bucks for schools in the 30th Council District, which includes Middle Village, Glendale and Ridgewood, along with parts of Richmond Hill, Woodhaven and Forest Hills.
"I made sure that almost every school in my district got funded hundreds of thousands of dollars," Como said, noting it has allowed educators to purchase more laptops for classrooms.
"I've had principals who have been coming in every day since then, thanking me," he added.
That Crowley continues to raise more money than Como is no surprise. In the special election, she raked in $50,000 more than Como, despite being ineligible for 6-to-1 matching public funds, which Como received.
Yet Crowley is still paying off more than $80,000 in fines for fund-raising irregularities during her unsuccessful 2001 Council bid against Gallagher.
She said she has roughly $25,000 remaining to pay. "By mid-August, this will be behind me," she told Queens News.
Crowley said Como is putting too much stock in his brief incumbency - and attributed his razor-thin victory to the nonpartisan nature of the special election.
"I never thought Anthony Como was my competition," she said, claiming a general election showdown will allow her to capitalize on the more than 2-to-1 enrollment edge Democrats enjoy in the district.
The other two candidates in the special election - Republican Tom Ognibene and Democrat Charles Ober - have said they will not run in November. In that election, voters will select someone to hold the seat for 2009, the final year in Gallagher's four-year term.
Anthony Como came out ahead in the June 3 special election, but Liz Crowley is hoping to overtake him this November-or, if not, by 2009.
Voters in the 30th Council District may find themselves turning a lot of levers in coming months because of an obscure rule in the City Charter.
Anthony Como, a Republican who won a razor-thin victory in the June 3 special election to fill ex-City Councilman Dennis Gallagher's seat for the rest of 2008, won't be in office for long before he faces another challenge.
There will be a primary in September and a general election in November to determine who will fill the seat for 2009. Another round of elections will be held the following fall for the full four-year term that starts in 2010.
The need for so many elections - each costing hundreds of thousands of dollars - has prompted several former and current elected officials to take a second look at the Charter rule.
"It is absolute nonsense to have a special election that doesn't fill out the term," said former Councilman Tom Ognibene, who ran against Como. "Running again in November is a waste of taxpayers' money."
The city Board of Elections does not yet have an exact cost for the 30th District race. A recent special election for a Brooklyn City Council seat cost $380,000, a spokeswoman said.
"You look at this - three elections in the span of a year and a half - and it clearly seems wasteful and redundant," said Councilman Eric Gioia. "There are quirks in the law that are unfortunate and need to be more closely examined."
The rule for multiple elections to fill a vacancy was put in place to decrease the power of political machines, one scholar noted.
County party bosses once hand-picked candidates to fill vacancies, but that was abandoned when the Board of Estimate was abolished in 1989 as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
"We regarded it as an undemocratic process," said Gerald Benjamin, who served as the principal research adviser for the Charter Commission. "We wanted competitive elections, nonpartisan elections, with easier ballot access."
Nonpartisan elections were established to fill vacancies as soon as possible, said Hofstra University Prof. Eric Lane.
"Holding a primary to fill a vacancy would have taken too long," said Lane, who served as chairman of the New York City Task Force on Charter Implementation in 1990. Despite the extra expense, "we judged that the democratic value of the proposed plan outweighed the cost."
To allow a special election winner in similar circumstances to complete the rest of the term, the Charter would have to be revised in a citywide referendum.
"Charter revisions are done all the time," said Richard Emery, the lawyer who argued against the Board of Estimate in the 1989 Supreme Court case.
When the numbers were finally and officially tallied a little over a week ago, Anthony Como had won a special election for a City Council seat by a mere 41 votes. Mr. Como’s razor-thin victory in a four-candidate race is not only a triumph for him, but also a victory that brings bragging rights for the Queens County Republican Party’s leadership.
Mr. Como, 34, won the seat vacated by Dennis P. Gallagher, a Republican. Mr. Gallagher resigned in April after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors, admitting that he sexually abused a woman in his district office last summer while he was intoxicated.
For Mr. Como and fellow Republican Party leaders, the victory on June 13 — when he was certified by the New York City Board of Elections after 10 days of recounting — was particularly sweet on a number of levels. For one thing, it was a closely contested race in which the Democrats had hoped to gain an additional seat. Beyond that, Mr. Como’s closest rival, Elizabeth Crowley, is the cousin of the Queens Democratic Party chairman, United States Representative Joseph Crowley.
And in winning, Mr. Como triumphed over a rival faction within the Republican Party. In the special election, he prevailed against Thomas V. Ognibene, a former City Councilman, who was once at the center of power within the Republican Party in Queens.
A special election is different from a primary race. It is nonpartisan, meaning that candidates are forbidden from using the names of established political parties. However, political parties are often behind-the-scenes players in such races. And both the Republicans and the Democrats focused on the race in Queens.
The district includes the moderate to conservative voting neighborhoods of Middle Village, Ridgewood and Glendale.
For now, Mr. Como said he was content just to keep the seat within the Republican fold (he is one of the three Republicans in the 51-member City Council). But he said that his party designation would not be a handicap in the Council’s chambers.
“I’m the newest Council member, but I’m not at all crippled by being new or being in the minority,” Mr. Como said in an interview in his district office in Middle Village.
“The entire Queens delegation has welcomed me,” he said. “I have met with almost every member of the delegation, the speaker and minority leader. We’ve already worked together on the budget and issues that affect my district. I don’t think people in the Council look at you as a Democrat or Republican.”
Nonetheless, Mr. Como has a long history of working with the Republican leaders in the borough. He is a former Queens prosecutor and commissioner with the City Board of Elections and was a longtime aide to State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, who represents District 15.
His victory was not determined on election night when he led Ms. Crowley by just 70 votes; those results did not include nearly 200 absentee ballots that had not yet been tallied. After a week of recounting ballots and machine totals, the margin narrowed. Mr. Como won.
“I am absolutely thrilled that we won one,” said Philip Ragusa, chairman of the Queens Republican organization. “We had two prominent Republicans in the same race. And I think Tom Ognibene took away more votes from Como than from Crowley.”
Mr. Como’s victory has energized Republican leaders in Queens, Mr. Ragusa said, and it has bolstered their confidence in the various State Assembly and Senate races this year.
“We’re running candidates in different parts of Queens, and we have some good people who will be on the ballot,” he said. “But, our main focus is to hold on to the State Senate and to work hard for Serph Maltese and Frank Padavan.”
In addition to Mr. Maltese, the Democrats are looking to defeat State Senator Frank Padavan, who represents District 11, in their effort to win back control of that chamber (they are two seats from winning the majority).
But the Democrats say they have their best opportunity in years to defeat both Queens Republican senators, pointing to the party’s voter registration advantage in both Senate districts. Also, Democratic leaders add, there are well-known candidates for both districts, including City Council members.
Still, Mr. Ragusa said, the election of Mr. Como indicates that Republicans remain vital in Queens.
“Our candidates feel a great deal of enthusiasm, especially after they’ve now seen someone from the party win this Council race,” he said. “So, without question, we’re hitting the ground running.”
The machine count is complete in the 30th CD, according to a source in the know, and Democrat Elizabeth Crowley is closing on Republican Anthony Como, who had a razor-thin 70-vote lead on election night.
That gap has narrowed to a mere 29 votes, with 268 paper ballots remaining to be counted tomorrow.
The stakes are unusually high in this race, with the Republicans not only hoping to hold on to their third Council seat, but also considering this a bellweather in the fight for Sen. Serphin Maltese's seat, which could prove crucial in the battle for control of the state Senate.
On the Democratic side, a loss would be a serious blow to the county organization and Chairman Joe Crowley. The party not only endorsed Elizabeth Crowley, the chairman's cousin, but threw everything it had into this race and urged its labor allies to do the same.
Republican Anthony Como's razor-thin unofficial victory over Democrat Elizabeth Crowley in Tuesday's special election to replace ex-City Councilman Dennis Gallagher reaffirmed a political trend that could impact a high-stakes state Senate showdown this fall.
The nonpartisan special election was watched closely on the state level because of the big-money Senate race this fall between Republican incumbent Serfin Maltese and City Councilman Joseph Addabbo - a race that could decide who wields power in the upper house.
Republicans have held Gallagher's 30th Council District seat in western Queens for almost two decades, despite a Democratic voter enrollment edge greater than 2-to-1.
The statewide significance lies in the fact the 30th Council District forms the northern half of the 15th Senate District, where Maltese has won 10 straight terms in spite of a similar Democratic enrollment advantage.
Though Como's apparent triumph won't be official until next week when the absentee ballots have been counted and the final tabulation certified, Maltese was giddy.
"That is a good sign for my future election," Maltese crowed. He pointed out that Como beat out Crowley - 2,352 votes to 2,282 - even though Republican Tom Ognibene, who represented the area on the Council from 1991 to 2001, garnered 2,031 votes.
Maltese said that by appealing to Democrats and Conservatives, not just Republicans, Como was able to hold off an all-out organizing effort by the Democratic Party, which is led by Crowley's cousin, Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Queens).
That effort included Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) going door-to-door for Crowley. Addabbo told the Daily News he was "not surprised" Maltese would play up Como's unofficial victory.
"We all have to remember that it could be apples and oranges," Addabbo said. He noted that the nonpartisan special election - a free-for-all between four candidates running without party labels - is different from the normal partisan general election.
"We all can't go hog-wild and all crazy over this race," he said. "It tells a story, that's true; but it's a small part of the big picture."
Daniel Egers, executive director of the Queens Republican Party, agreed with Addabbo's analysis. "There's a completely different dynamic in the councilmanic special," he said. "You don't have party labels on the ballot...so it's no reflection on Sen. Maltese's popularity or his prospects for the fall."
Doug Forand, chief strategist for the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, echoed that sentiment. Others looked at the situation differently.
"This is the Republican heart of Serf Maltese's district," said one Democratic insider, referring to the 30th Council District. "The mere fact that there's an aggressive street campaign mobilizing Democrats is a bad thing for Serf Maltese."
Anthony Como, a former Queens prosecutor and longtime aide to State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, was leading a special election Tuesday night for a City Council seat in Queens that was vacated by Dennis P. Gallagher, a Queens Republican.
According to unofficial results from the New York City Board of Elections, Mr. Como won a four-way battle with 31.7 percent of the vote, just 70 votes more than his closest rival, Elizabeth Crowley, who received 30.7 percent of the vote. The results reflected all of the votes, outside of absentee ballots, having been counted.
But the Board of Elections said that there were 196 absentee ballots that have not yet been tallied, and that there could be additional valid absentee ballots, as long as they are received by next Tuesday.
Paper ballots are typically counted within a week after the machine ballot is tabulated. Mr. Gallagher resigned in April after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors, admitting that he sexually abused a woman in his district office last summer while he was intoxicated.
Ms. Crowley is a cousin of United States Representative Joseph Crowley, the Democratic Party chairman in Queens. She is also the daughter of Walter and Mary Crowley, each of whom once represented many of the same Queens neighborhoods in the City Council.
Mr. Como, a Republican, is a former commissioner of the City Board of Elections and was endorsed by the Queens Republican Party organization. And his victory was seen as a triumph, not only for the Republican organization in the borough, but also for Senator Maltese, who faces his own re-election battle this year.
In third place was Thomas V. Ognibene with 27.3 percent. Mr. Ognibene was Mr. Gallagher’s predecessor in the Council, having served from 1992 to 2001, when he left his seat because of term-limit requirements.
The fourth candidate was Charles J. Ober, a financial executive and community activist, who received 10 percent of the vote. The district includes Middle Village, Ridgewood and Glendale, and its constituents are considered moderate to conservative.
The Republicans have been eager to hold the seat, one of only three they control in the 51-member Council.
The special election in the 30th Council District on Tuesday was a nonpartisan contest in which candidates were barred under the City Charter from running on the ballot with the name of an established political party.
Nonetheless, most of the candidates in Tuesday’s race had had longstanding affiliations with either the Democratic or Republican Parties.
The Republican presence in the City Council could be whittled down to two members as voters go to the polls today in Queens to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Council Member Dennis Gallagher.
Mr. Gallagher, of Queens, left office after pleading guilty to misdemeanor sexual abuse charges stemming from allegations that he assaulted a 52-year-old grandmother in his campaign office.
Today's special election is a four-way matchup between two Democrats and two Republicans. The vote will fill Mr. Gallagher's seat temporarily; the candidates could compete again as soon as 2009 in regularly scheduled elections.
The Queens Democratic Party has endorsed Elizabeth Crowley, a program director at the Consortium for Worker Education, a nonprofit labor advocacy group. Ms. Crowley ran unsuccessfully against Mr. Gallagher for City Council in 2001, when she was 23. Her family has a history in city politics: Both her parents served on the City Council, and her cousin is Rep. Joseph Crowley, who represents parts of Queens and is chairman of the borough's Democratic Party, connections which are drawing charges of nepotism from critics.
Ms. Crowley has battled for endorsements with the race's other Democrat, community activist Charles Ober. Mr. Ober has the backing of the local Independence Party and last week received the support of the New York Times editorial board. At times, Ms. Crowley and Mr. Ober's competition has been heated; after a local gay club last week endorsed Ms. Crowley, who opposes gay marriage, the openly gay Mr. Ober accused the club's chairman of currying favor with the local Democratic Party to boost his own political ambitions.
On the Republican side, the Queens Republican Party is throwing its support behind Anthony Como, a Queens County Board of Elections commissioner and former assistant district attorney. The other Republican candidate is the district's former council member, Thomas Ognibene, whom Mr. Gallagher succeeded. Mr. Ognibene served in the City Council between 1991 and 2001, before being forced out by term limits. He ran unsuccessfully against Mayor Bloomberg in 2005.
Of the four candidates, Ms. Crowley has had the most success at fund-raising, garnering $159,400 in contributions, but because of fines she received for violating campaign finance laws in her 2001 race, she is not eligible for public matching funds. Mr. Ober has raised $23,744, Mr. Ognibene has raised $35,365, and Mr. Como has raised $48,230.
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