DiResto Eying Pheffer's Assembly Seat by Toni Cimino - Queens Courier

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Retired NYPD Lieutenant Glenn DiResto may be throwing his hat in the ring for Audrey Pheffer’s empty Assembly seat.

At least one person may be throwing his hat in the ring for Audrey Pheffer’s empty Assembly seat.

Retired NYPD Lieutenant Glenn DiResto said he decided to explore the possibility of running for the seat after Pheffer’s former chief of staff, Jo Ann Shapiro, decided not to run.

“Jo Ann has a tremendous amount of experience and would have been a great candidate. However, with her not running it makes the race more appealing,” said DiResto.

DiResto was a former City Council candidate in the 2009 Special Election that was won by Eric Ulrich.

“I am interested in the position because the problems that face our neighborhoods are the same as they were two years ago,” said DiResto. “We really need someone who understands the problems of the neighborhoods and has the personal, professional and civic experience to help solve those problems.”

DiResto has said he does not expect to get an official party line designation and notes he “hopes to be making a final decision in the next couple weeks” as to whether or not he will run.

“As a constituent, I believe everyone has an opportunity to run,” said County Clerk Pheffer. “There are many people who are very involved, and those who run must be responsive to the community.”

The 23rd Assembly district encompasses areas of Ozone Park, Howard Beach and the Rockaways. Pheffer told The Courier that the biggest challenge for whoever fills the seat will be the budget.

“He or she needs preparation to learn the process and make decisions,” she said. “The budget process is tough, and there’s still a deficit.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo has not yet set a date for the Special Election.

Petition Snafu Threatens To End Lynn Nunes Council Candidacy At BoE by Chris Bragg - City Hall News

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Lynn Nunes’ Council race may be over before it even began.

Just days before the end of his unsuccessful State Senate primary against Shirley Huntley, Nunes irked some of his backers by simultaneously applying for matching funds in the Council race to replace the deceased Tom White. At the same time, Nunes’ sister, Elaine, petitioned onto the ballot for the Council race, with the unspoken intention of ceding the spot to her brother via her committee on vacancies if the Senate campaign was unsuccessful.

And so the plan went into motion last week, after Nunes fell to Huntley by a 2-1 margin in Tuesday’s primary.

But it too seems to be falling short of expectations.
The New York City Board of Elections is initiating prima facie objections against the petitions of both Lynn and Elaine Nunes for the special election, based on the party name they created for the purposes of the election: Working Harder for Queens.

The problem is simple, and is one that has cut short special election candidacies before: their new party name is similar to that of the existing Working Families Party. And according to Board of Elections rules, the name of a party used on designating petitions cannot share all or any part of the name of an existing political party. (Huntley, as it happens, received the WFP line for the Senate race earlier in the summer.)

The Board of Elections considered a very similar issue just last February, for the special election fill the Council seat Joe Addabbo vacated to go to the State Senate. Glenn DiResto, a former police officer who had petitioned for the seat as the candidate of the Families First party was booted from the ballot because he had used the other operative word in the WFP’s title.

Eventually, DiResto was allowed back on the ballot by a judge, but only because the Board had given another candidate in the race the chance to change the name of their party after making a similar error.

In a phone conversation early Monday, Nunes said he was not sure if he would be running for the Council, and did not mention the BOE snafu.

Nunes did not return subsequent calls for comment.

J.C. Polanco, the Board’s Republican commissioner from the Bronx, said a BOE hearing
would be held on Tuesday, Sept. 28 regarding Nunes’ petitions. The special election is set to be held on the day of the general election, Nov. 2.

Already, 22 general objections have been filed in the race against nearly every one of the dozen potential candidates. A general objector named Joseph Thomas Jr. filed objections against Elaine Nunes, while general objectors Sharon Smith and Troy L. Jackson filed objections against both Elaine and Lynn Nunes.

Between them, Smith and Jackson appear to have lodged general objections at least once against every candidate except for Ruben Wills, the favorite of Huntley and Assembly Member Vivian Cook. Wills, who is running as the candidate of A Better Way, had his petitions challenged by Jaime Nunes.

General objections were also filed against the Taxpayers line petitions filed by Michael Allegretti, who lost the GOP Congressional primary to face Rep. Mike McMahon last week, as well as the Taxpayers petitions of Nicole Malliotakis, hoping to unseat Assembly Member Janele Hyer-Spencer. New lines with names playing off the word “taxes” appear to be somewhat taxing themselves: the Tax Cuts Now! line of Anthony Como, running against State Sen. Joe Addabbo, was challenged by three people, and the Taxed Enough line of Vince Tabone, running for the seat being vacated by Ann-Margaret Carrozza, was challenged by two people.

Courier Sun 32nd CD Debate a Success by Tonia Cimino - The Queens Courier

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Candidates Geraldine Chapey, Glenn DiResto, Frank Gulluscio; Queens Courier Publisher Victoria Schneps-Yunis; Managing Editor Tonia N. Cimino; candidates Michael Ricatto, Lew Simon and Eric Ulrich.

With about two weeks to go before the February 24 Special Election to fill the City Council seat vacated by Senator Joseph Addabbo, the candidates came out on Friday, February 6 for a very special debate, hosted by The Queens Courier and Courier Sun newspapers, and set to air on Queens Public Television.

Held at the Howard Beach Assembly of God, the candidates that were able to answer questions and give their point of view were Geraldine Chapey, Glenn DiResto, Frank Gulluscio, Michael Ricatto, Lew Simon and Eric Ulrich.

However, after appealing with the Board of Elections (BOE), on Monday, February 9, Gulluscio was thrown off of the ballot because of a legal technicality about the nature in which his validating petition was served. “I look forward to pursuing all options to allow me to continue to serve the people of the 32nd Council District," said Gulluscio.

DiResto also appealed, but as of Tuesday, February 10, he said, “The judge has not made a decision.”

Each of the six spoke out against the Cross Bay Bridge toll and the MTA’s proposal to rescind the rebate.

“I’m probably the only one up here who can say I got arrested for that toll,” said Simon. Chapey suggested that the MTA sell or lease its property; and Ulrich noted that the money the MTA makes from the toll, about $2.2 million, is “a drop in the bucket.”

Another issue the candidates tackled was the traffic along Cross Bay and Rockaway Boulevards. Many noted that the traffic lights are not in sync and suggested rectifying the “horrendous” traffic with safety or crossing guards and improved public transportation, including the “A” train and reactivating the Rockaway Beach line of the Long Island Rail Road.

A major issue in the district, graffiti, was brought up next, with DiResto, a former NYPD lieutenant, saying that there needs to be more enforcement, more accountability by local businesses and more police. Many of the candidates also called for stricter penalties, including fines and/or community service. Ulrich, whose organization, the Our Neighbors Civic Association of Ozone Park, does graffiti clean-ups, said the war on vandalism is “two-pronged,” including clean-up and prevention. “You need to send a strong message to people who want to deface property,”he said.

When asked what challenges face area schools, the candidates raised the issues of safety, overcrowding, too few teachers, mayoral control and parental involvement.

After audience questions having to do with the Broad Channel Volunteers Firefighters and a lack of police, FDNY and sanitation in light of the Rockaway building boom, the candidates were then given one minute to present their closing statements.

“The only promise I can make is to be honest,” said Ulrich. “I will never give up fighting for these communities.”

Simon told the overflowing audience that he has a “proven track record of success” and personal service; Ricatto gave his “Triple Ace Guarantee” of access, attention and action; Gulluscio, who noted that he was endorsed by more unions than any other and by Addabbo as well, said the City Council is about “real life experience.”

DiResto noted that he has been a “life-long public servant” and will continue to serve; and Chapey said “You can prove the future by the present,” adding that she would work to eliminate wasteful spending and reduce taxes.

The Special Election for the 32nd District will be on Tuesday, February 24. For more information, visit www.vote.nyc.ny.us.

QPTV will air “Meet the Candidates 2009 District 32” on Friday, February 20 from 4 to 5 p.m. on channel 56; and on Sunday, February 22 from 9 to 10 p.m., also on channel 56.

More Video from the CD32 Debate - Mike Riccato's Question to Eric Ulrich

CD32 Michael Riccato's question for Eric Ulrich, during a debate to replace Joe Addabbo in the New York City Council, on February 12, 2009.

32 CD Debate - Opening Statements

The Opening statements from the five candidates at the 32 CD Debate held at Saint Barnabas Church in Howard Beach, NY on February 12th. The debate was sponsored by The Forum South and the Queens Chronicle newspapers...

Video courtesy of LibertyAvenuePolitics

Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio Donates to Politician Whose Ma Will Rule on Saving Diocese Schools by Brendan Brosh - NY Daily News

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Brooklyn's Catholic bishop made a rare political donation last month to a City Council candidate whose mother has power over a plan to save several parochial schools, the Daily News has learned.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, whose diocese also includes Queens, personally contributed $250 to Queens candidate Geraldine M. Chapey on Jan. 7, city campaign finance records show.

The donation came a month before DiMarzio and Mayor Bloomberg announced the city plans to convert some struggling Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens into charter schools.

Chapey's mother is a member of the state Board of Regents, which has the power to approve charter schools.

"I guess religion has a place in politics now," said Glenn DiResto, a retired NYPD lieutenant who is running against Chapey in a special election for the Council seat vacated by new state Sen. Joseph Addabbo.

"It creates a suspicion of impropriety. This is politics as usual," DiResto said.

Another candidate, Lew Simon, called the contribution a "conflict of interest."

"I've never seen the church speak out on a candidate before," Simon said.

DiMarzio - who heads a diocese of nearly 1-1/2 million Catholics - said there was no quid pro quo with the politically connected family.

"You can't make the connection," said DiMarzio, who said he has known Chapey for the past five years. "It doesn't exist."

The donation is actually worth $772, because it qualifies for a $522 match with taxpayer money under Campaign Finance Board rules.

It appears to be the 64-year-old bishop's first donation to any city, state or federal candidate, a search of campaign finance records shows. DiMarzio said he had donated to "very few" candidates "back in New Jersey" but couldn't remember their names.

A search of New Jersey campaign finance and lobbying records did not reveal any donations from DiMarzio.

Chapey's mother, Geraldine D. Chapey, who has sat on the Board of Regents since 1998, did not return a call for comment.

The plan to convert four Brooklyn and Queens Catholic schools into charter schools is still fluid, but the diocese plans to establish a nonprofit to oversee them. They could no longer offer religious education.

The proposal faces a number of legislative hurdles, and the state would need to pass a law for the plan to go through.

Council candidate Chapey - who seeks to represent portions of the Rockaways, Howard Beach and Ozone Park - said she hadmade no agreement with the bishop.

"The bishop is a citizen, and he's participating in the democratic process," said Chapey, a local Democratic district leader. "There was no discussion about charter schools. Absolutely and totally not. N.O. No discussion. That would be evil."

DiMarzio stressed that his donation was made as a private citizen. He said he doesn't expect Chapey to vote along church lines if she's elected.

"She's not the regent," DiMarzio said. "Her mother is. She is a very good parishioner of the diocese.

Council Candidates Talk About Transit by Lee Landor - Queens Chronicle

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Candidates in the 32nd Council District special election participate in first forum. From left are Sam DiBernardo, Glenn DiResto, Frank Gulluscio, moderators Anthony Gellineau and Ken Fisher, Lew Simon, Geraldine Chapey and Eric Ulrich.

The candidates were tame and the atmosphere friendly at the first debate between the hopefuls running in the 32nd Council District special election.

Six of the seven candidates, three of whom had not made it onto the ballot as of Wednesday, sat in a row in the basement of St. Anthony of Padua Church in South Ozone Park last Wednesday night.

After introducing themselves in one-minute opening statements, the candidates answered questions from members of the audience and the debate moderators — Ken Fisher of the New York League of Conservation Voters and Anthony Gellineau of the South Ozone Park Civic Association West.

The focus of the forum, sponsored by the two organizations, was transportation in the district — why it is inadequate and what can be done to improve it. All the candidates agreed that mass transit in south Queens is, in one oft-repeated word, “deplorable.”

A major reason transportation is lacking in much of the district’s neighborhoods — which include Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach and the Rockaways — is their geographic isolation, Fisher said before asking the candidates how they would go about increasing those options.

Glenn DiResto, a retired NYPD lieutenant and Rockaway resident, said he would work with the City Council’s Transportation Committee to ensure greater oversight of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Not having mass transit options “make us all feel like outsiders in our community,” DiResto said, adding that that must immediately be put to an end.

Democratic District Leader Frank Gulluscio, a Howard Beach resident and former teacher, touted his experience as a former staff member of then-city councilman Joseph Addabbo Jr. before noting he has worked with the committee and its chairman, Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing).

Gulluscio told audience members to be pragmatic, reminding them of the local and national fiscal crisis — the MTA will not build new trains or stations or start spending millions of dollars, he said. With that in mind, Gulluscio said he would work on improving the quality of existing transportation.

Lifelong Rockaway resident and Democratic District Leader Lew Simon said he has been calling for the reactivation of the Rockaway Beach line of the Long Island Rail Road for many years.

If the line were reopened, it would save south Queens residents a tremendous amount of travel time, he said, noting that a ride from Howard Beach to Penn Station would take 20 minutes — a big improvement from the typical hour and a half it takes commuters riding the A train.

The youngest candidate in the Feb. 24 special election, 24-year-old Republican District Leader Eric Ulrich of Ozone Park, said the real question is how is the district’s next city council representative will deal with the MTA as a quasi-state organization.

In addition to more oversight of the MTA, Ulrich said it is essential to improve the agency’s level of transparency. “The MTA has two sets of books,” Ulrich said, and the public must have access to them both, to know exactly how money is being spent and affairs are being handled.

Geraldine Chapey, a fourth-generation Rockaway resident and Democratic district leader, echoed Ulrich’s sentiments. “The MTA wastes money,” Chapey said. “It needs to be more efficient and fiscally responsible.”

Chapey, who in 1994 started Trinity Senior Services — a community transportation program for the elderly in south Queens — is concerned that the region’s transit system is not aimed at seniors. “Baby boomers are going to need services,” she said. The MTA should be looking for new alternatives and technologies to improve its operations, Chapey added.

Sam DiBernardo, a 74-year-old former educator from Howard Beach, also emphasized the used of technology as a means of improvement for the MTA.

His specialty being education, DiBernardo said everything always comes back to the way things are handled in the classroom: the MTA could work with students in technology-specific schools or programs to come up with more efficient and effective solutions, he said.

Among the other subjects discussed during the debate was education. The candidates were asked their opinions of mayoral control of city schools — they all said it needs “tweaking” — and their plans to address gangs, violence and overcrowding in schools.

Each candidate said the bottom line is communication between all parties: students, parents, teachers, school administrators, Department of Education heads and the NYPD school safety division.

The economic development of the Rockaways was also an issue that got much attention from the contenders. Each acknowledged that the peninsula is in poor shape.

The city has neglected Rockaway, used it as a dumping ground and treated it like “dreck,” or garbage, according to DiResto, Simon and DiBernardo, respectively. Joining them in lambasting the city’s treatment of the peninsula, Chapey and Gulluscio both said it’s time for economic revitalization in Rockaway.

The city needs to start promoting and marketing the peninsula, DiBernardo said. Simon and Chapey said Rockaway needs a college. Ulrich and Gulluscio want to eliminate the toll on the Cross Bay Bridge — the only way in and out of Rockaway from Queens. Rockaway, DiResto said, “should be a recreation destination.”

Personality, Not Policy Marks Debate in South Queens by Dara Miles - Gotham Gazette

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Candidates

• Geraldine M. Chapey
• Glen DiResto
• Mike Ricatto
• Eric Ulrich
• Lew M. Simon
  
  Click on a candidate name
  to jump to a short bio

Current Occcupant: The 32nd district council seat, currently vacant, was occupied by Democrat Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.. In November, who won election to the State Senate in November.

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Four candidates (perhaps five, depending on the final outcome of a legal challenge) will be on the ballot vying to represent the 32nd district at City Hall. Although they largely agree on the issues of concern to south Queens, they have differed sharply as to who is qualified -- or who even has the right -- to represent the area.

Among those running are several candidates who claim years of service to their political parties and to their communities. The youngest contender, Eric Ulrich, is a Republican district leader who has been active in politics since his teens. Lew Simon is a Democrat district leader who claims a long tenure as a neighborhood activist. Geraldine Chapey, a fourth-generation resident of the district, touts her experience as an educator and as the founder of a non-profit organization that provides group transportation to south Queens seniors. That affiliation, though, cuts both ways; she has been under attack because she refuses to disclose how much, or whether, she makes any money from her contracts with the city.)

The field includes two newcomers to politics. Glen DiResto points to his leadership and managerial experience in the police department. Mike Ricatto, a successful entrepreneur, is hoping that voters will decide they need his business acumen at City Hall. His campaign was shaken up early on when the driver of a campaign van hit and killed a 9-year-old boy. More recently, his candidacy survived a legal challenge based on his relatively recent move into the district. Some of his opponents say Ricatto has no right to run in the 32nd, but the courts have ruled otherwise.

Far from Manhattan

District 32 spans a spread-out handful of communities on Queens' southern reaches, from Woodhaven south through Ozone Park, Howard Beach and Broad Channel, and across Jamaica Bay to Rockaway. Once an enclave of working-class Italian, Irish and Jewish families, the district is now one of the most ethnically diverse in Queens.

While most of the district's residents live no more than 10 miles from City Hall as the crow flies, they like to imagine that their quiet, tree-lined neighborhoods with modest single-family homes are worlds away from Lower Manhattan's hustle. Yet, the psychic distance comes at a price -- they complain of being short-changed when it comes to getting their share of city services, particularly transportation.

That was the message the candidates got on Feb. 4 at the first of two debates where a large part of the discussion centered on the lack of reliable public transportation and the resulting strain on traffic and on-street parking. Residents worry that service will only get worse in the face of budget cuts. With the city's financial crisis rendering train or bus route expansions mere whimsy at this point, the candidates agreed that existing service must be maintained at the very least.

Rockaway and Broad Channel residents, separated from the rest of the district by Jamaica Bay, are also distressed at the specter of having to once again pay a toll to use the Cross Bay bridge. Currently, these residents get a rebate on tolls paid, but the Metropolitan Transit Authority is mulling an end to the program. The candidates agreed that Queens residents should not have to pay to drive from one end of their borough to another and pledged to fight the authority's proposed rollback.

In contrast to the first debate, where civility prevailed, a second debate a week later touched focused on less pressing matters yet was marked, in the waning minutes, by discord and vitriol.

Although seven candidates for Addabbo's council seat had filed nominating petitions with the Board of Elections by the Jan. 15 deadline, petition challenges knocked three out of the race before the second debate. One of the victims was Frank Gulluscio, a Democratic district leader and former Adabbo staffer who many saw as the heir apparent. Sam DiBernardo, failed to gather enough signatures to get his name on the ballot. DiResto, was eliminated too but is appealing the decision.

That left four survivors, Ricatto, Ulrich, Chapey and Simon, plus a hopeful DiResto, to duke it out before a nearly packed house in a Howard Beach church basement, with audience members throwing some verbal punches as well.

The evening started benignly enough, with all of the contenders reiterating their unanimity on the transportation, toll rebate and essential services issues. The candidates' differences were more a matter of style than substance as they explained how they would fix problems ranging from dead fish in the Shell Bank basin to shrinking manpower in police precincts.

Debate moderator and Queens Chronicle editor Peter Mastrosimone asked the candidates how they would solve the apparent disparity between police protection in Rockaway and the precincts to the north. Most candidates suggested manpower sharing or reallocation among the three precincts. "Allocating police officers is not rocket science," said former police lieutenant DiResto. "You look at the map, and you deploy the officers where they're needed -- where the crime is."

Residents complain that parking regulations and noise ordinances are not enforced. The candidates agreed change is needed, and Chapey invoked former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his tough-on-minor-crime policies. "As a City Council person, I would insist that we go back to that time," she said. "The police and other municipal services must be directed to deal with them."

Ulrich also favored a zero-tolerance approach. "If one of my constituents calls my line -- which I will have 24 hours a day -- and says that somebody is blasting that music at one o clock in the morning, guess what? The police officer's going to go there and not issue summonses, not give tickets, they're going to take that sound system and confiscate it and get it the hell out of there," he said.

Like the rest of Queens, the district struggles with "illegal conversions" -- home renovations, sometimes shoddy and unsafe, done so that more families can be quartered under one roof. The contenders agree that increased enforcement is needed, as well as more oversight of the city's troubled Buildings Department. Simon proposed to get one building inspector assigned to work with each community board, and tougher consequences for violators.

South Queens residents rely heavily on the city's forestry services for maintenance of the district's many trees. As Mastrosimone noted, district residents made more than a 1,000 calls last year to the parks department, usually for removal of dead trees or tree limbs. Most candidates agreed that it was hard to get a timely response from the department and pledged to get forestry to make the district a higher priority.

Ricatto disagreed. "We are in a fiscal, financial crisis right now," he said. "Forestry is the least of our worries at this point in time. I think what important is to keep our police on duty and our firefighters on duty and to keep the core of our services up and running."

Money -- or the lack thereof -- underpins each of the district's issues. When asked for one revenue innovation to help bridge the budget gap, DiResto and Uhlrich said they would push to reinstate the commuter tax, something that requires the approval of the state government. Chapey suggested tapping the federal stimulus package, and Ricatto favored stepped-up enforcement of small crimes to bring revenues from fines into the city coffers. Simon proposed a borough-wide Lotto, with each borough running its own game and keeping the revenues for its projects.

Heating Up

Sparks flew toward the end of the evening, when the candidates questioned each other. Ricatto faced cries of "Carpetbagger!" from the crowd until a loud voice from the back rose to his defense. Ricatto, the businessman, asked Ulrich, the young politician, how he was qualified to lead in hard fiscal times.

"There's a lot more to being a City Council member than being a businessman," Ulrich responded. "Politics is not business, and these are not your employees," he said, gesturing to the cheering crowd.

Chapey found herself in the cross hairs as well. Ulrich questioned her successful effort to get Gulluscio bounced from the ballot. Shouting down a pro-Gulluscio contingent in the crowd, Chapey said, "If you go into the pool hall, the rules are listed on the wall, she said. "If you want to run for election, you should know the rules."

Addabbo had endorsed Gulluscio and so far has not indicated whether he will endorse one of the remaining candidates. The Queens County Republican Party's Executive Committee is endorsing Ulrich.

The winner of the Feb. 24 special election only locks up the council seat for a few months. Next November, District 32 voters will go back to the polls again, and they may find Gulluscio's name back on the ballot.

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Biographies

Geraldine Chapey, 67: A Rockaway Park resident, she is a professor at CUNY in the behavioral sciences department and a Democratic district leader for Far Rockaway. She is the director of Trinity Senior Services, a non-profit transportation service for seniors living in southeast Queens. Chapey ran unsuccessfully for the state Assembly more than a decade ago; this is her first bid for City Council.

Glen DiResto, 38: He retired last year from the New York Police Department where he served as a lieutenant. A political newcomer, he lives in Rockaway Beach.

Michael P. Ricatto, 52: The Ozone Park resident is president of Ricatto Enterprises, a group of family-owned enterprises with interests in re-manufacturing, fleet maintenance, racehorses and real estate. This is his first time running for office.

Lew M. Simon, 49: He lives in Rockaway Beach and is a long-time community activist and the founder and chair of the Good Government Regular Democratic Club. He has been a Democratic district leader since 1994. He first ran for city council in 2002, but lost to Joseph Addabbo in the primary election.

Eric Ulrich, 23: A fundraiser for the Roman Catholic Church, he previously worked as a schoolteacher and a campaign consultant. A Republican district leader since 2007, this is the Ozone Park resident's first time running for City Council.

Campaign Finance Records

Geraldine Chapey
Glenn DiResto
Michael Ricatto
Lew Simon
Eric Ulrich

Gulluscio Stays Off The Ballot by Elizabeth Benjamin - The Daily Politics - NY Daily News

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A Queens state Supreme Court Justice today upheld a ruling by elections commissioners that tossed Frank Gulluscio off the ballot for the upcoming 32nd CD special election in which Gulluscio had hoped to win the Queens seat of his former boss, Sen. Joe Addabbo.

However, in a rather odd twist, Justice Phyllis Orlikoff Flug didn't cite the Gulluscio's lack of valid signatures, which was what led the elections commissioners to bounce him in the first place.

Instead, Flug ruled that Gulluscio should remain off the ballot due to "failure of service," which, as far as I can tell, means the process server who was supposed to serve notice on the individuals who objected to the candidate's petitions didn't follow the rules properly.

In this case, according to someone who was in the court today, the server failed to affix the notice to the door of the individual being served. Instead, according to the objector, the notice was inside the door and not ON it.

Such are the nit-picky details - along with improper wording on petitions and picking a symbol for one's made-up party that doesn't conform with Election Law - that can cost a candidate his one shot at being a councilman.

The same source said he expects Gulluscio to run again in September when Addabbo's seat comes up (recall that defending a seat in a general election against one's erstwhile special election opponent isn't necessarily an easy undertaking - just ask former Councilman Anthony Como).

Nevertheless, this is a blow to Gulluscio and also to Addabbo, who had endorsed his former staffer's bid to succeed him. (Not to mention the Hotel and Motel Trades Council, which endorsed Gulluscio, too).

Former Sen. Marty Connor, an election attorney working for another 32nd CD candidate, Geraldine Chapey, said he has dropped his effort to get Eric Ulrich off the ballot.

Gulluscio accused Chapey of foul play in hiring Connor, saying in a prepared statement:

"The idea that this is a system meant to uphold democracy is preposterous when the signatures of thousands of voters can be rendered meaningless by a legal technicality. We must demand that we have a system where the will of the people cannot be overturned by lawyers."

"Geraldine Chapey has been on what can only be described as a witch hunt, dragging her opponents into court, causing us hours of wasted time and thousands of dollars in lawyer's fees."

"She obviously feels that the only way she can win is to eliminate the competition using her lawyer, rather than in a fair election by the will of the people. I cannot imagine that the voters of the 32nd Council District would want to be represented by someone like that."

Gulluscio pledged to pursue "all options" that will allow him to "continue to serve" 32nd CD residents.

The case of yet another candidate for Addabbo's seat who was pushed off the ballot by elections commissioners last week, Glenn DiResto, will be heard tomorrow.

Six Bounced From Feb. 24 Ballot by Elizabeth Benjamin - The Daily Politics - NY Daily News

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Elections commissioners voted today to remove from the ballot six of the 22 candidates who filed petitions to run for three vacant City Council seats in the Feb. 24 special elections.

The candidates bounced were:

- Frank Gulluscio (Community First), 32nd CD.

- Glenn DiResto (Families First), 32nd CD.

- Sam Dibernardo (Independent), 32 CD.

- Anthony Cosentino (Common Sense and Experience), 49th CD.

- Rajiv Gowda (People First), 49th CD.

- Angel Del Villar (Community First), 21st CD.

In every case but Dibernardo's, the commissioners were acting based on challenges (generally filed by people close to or representing other candidates).

Dibernardo was far short of the 1,098 signature threshold - he only filed 30 pages of petitions - and the commissioners acted on their own accord to remove him from the ballot.

Former Sen. Marty Connor, who is now a full-time election attorney, which used to be something of a sideline when he was still in office, called in to say he had succeeded in two of the three cases he was handling today.

Connor, whose client is Geraldine Chapey (Community First, 32nd CD), said it was clear Gulluscio didn't have enough signatures after 1,436 of the 2,465 he filed were ruled invalid.

In DiResto's case, Connor reminded the commissioners that statute forbids any candidate to run on a line that uses all or part of an existing political party's name. "Families First" runs afoul of this rule beacuse of the existence of the Working Families Party.

Connor was hoping to bump Eric Ulrich from the ballot, too, but he withstood the challenge and made it onto the ballot. Connor said he plans to go to court Monday both to defend the commission's decisions on DiResto and Gulluscio and to take another crack at Ulrich.

Gulluscio Gears Up for Feb. 24 Election by Lee Landor - Queens Chronicle

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It’s been almost a year since he declared his candidacy in the special election for the 32nd Council District seat, and Frank Gulluscio is well prepared and ready to go.

Photo: Frank Gulluscio, right, with singer Tony Bennett on Jan. 13 during Queens Borough President Helen Marshall’s State of the Borough address. (photo by Michael O’Kane)

The Democratic district leader from Howard Beach has long been involved in the community, formerly as a teacher and later as a member of Joseph Addabbo Jr.’s City Council staff.

The 60-year-old grandfather of two said the experience in the world of public service has prepared him well for a council seat.

Following his stint with Addabbo, Gulluscio became the district manager for Community Board 6, where he has been working for more than two years.

“I’m actually doing what the City Council does now at my job as district manager,” Gulluscio said last February. “We do all the services that the people require, just like the City Council, and the only thing we don’t do is make the laws.”

The community boards are now examining their budgets — which have suffered major cuts in recent months — and taking a “serious, serious look at government at probably the most grass roots level that there is,” Gulluscio said this week.

Just as his work on the community board has familiarized him with budget management, Gulluscio’s background in local civic and political life has helped him garner name recognition in the communities he would represent, should he win the Feb. 24 non-partisan special election. It has also generated for him strong ties with community leaders, he said.

The focus of Gulluscio’s campaign is to serve the community by addressing “kitchen-table issues” and showing residents that he can relate to their concerns and lifestyles.

“I understand our schools, I understand business, I understand government,” Gulluscio said.

“More importantly, I understand, firsthand, what it means to be a middle-class resident of this city struggling to earn a living and raise a family successfully.”

Part of Gulluscio’s “mission” upon reaching City Hall, he said, is studying initiatives and measures Addabbo started when he was in office and making sure that they come to fruition.

The Department of Education is a top priority for Gulluscio, who has volunteered his time at the St. Mary Gate of Heaven School in Ozone Park for the last three and a half decades. “We have to look at education in a wide view,” Gulluscio said. “Not with blinders on.”

On the controversial issue of mayoral control of the city’s public schools, Gulluscio said it “has to be tweaked so that we get more parental involvement, parental input and parental communication.” Transparency, he added, is key.

Financial problems surrounding Catholic private schools also needs to be examinued, Gulluscio said, noting that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens has already shuttered and merged a number of schools in the area.

Considering the current economic situation, it’s critical to examine the city’s revenue stream, according to Gulluscio, who said, “I believe that we should be cutting some more fat out of city government before we start raising taxes.”

While he anticipates addressing these issues if he wins the election, Gulluscio is most looking forward to “making sure we have the quality of life that we really deserve.” He wants to be “a real advocate for the people,” he said.

Up against six other candidates, some of whom are as well-known as he is, Gulluscio has some campaigning to do for the next month before the election, but he’s confident the seat is his.

Gulluscio and his campaign team have raised more than $40,000 in campaign funds as of the most recent filing date, Jan. 15. They have collected more than the 1,000 signatures required to be placed on the ballot and filed the necessary paperwork. Their only concern, Gulluscio said, is the weather. He hopes it won’t be so terrible as to prevent voters from coming out on Election Day.

The other six contenders are Rockaway Democratic District Leaders Lew Simon and Geraldine Chapey, Ozone Park Republican District Leader Eric Ulrich, retired NYPD lieutenant Glenn DiResto of Rockaway, Howard Beach businessman Michael Ricatto and retired Ozone Park educator Sam DiBernardo.

Fourth Man Declares Run in Special Election by Lee Landor - Queens Chronicle

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A second Rockaway man declared his run for the 32nd Council District February 2009 special election, bringing the total number of contenders to four.

Retired NYPD lieutenant and life-long Rockaway resident Glenn DiResto announced last week that he is ready to compete with opponents Frank Gulluscio, Eric Ulrich and Lew Simon, each of whom is a district leader with name recognition in his respective community.

Unlike his competitors, DiResto, 38, does not have a background in politics — in fact, he hates politics. But that’s exactly why he wants to take office: he wants to bring change, particularly to the Rockaways, which, he said, has been largely neglected by the city.

DiResto took care to explain that he wouldn’t favor one area of the district over another, but that steps would need to be taken to level what has been an uneven playing field for many years.

“If I were to be elected, everybody would get equal representation. The only thing is a lot of other areas in the council district have already reaped economic growth and funding, where as there has been a lot of neglect here [in the Rockaways],” DiResto said.

“There needs to a little more focus on the needs of some of the areas here... But there will be no disparity in service. Everybody would have an equal voice and funding would be distributed equally.”

The 38-year-old mentioned some of the Rockaways’ needs: while there are many nursing homes and low-income housing units, there are no colleges, transportation is poor, police presence is insufficient and economic development barely exists. The peninsula has two hospitals, but both have low ratings, according to DiResto.

The city has repeatedly promised to bring more institutions and economic growth to the Rockaways, but “every time we’re promised something, we get nothing,” he said, noting two such incidents: ferry service and a CUNY annex.

Both Ulrich, an Ozone Park Republican district leader, and Simon, a Rockaway Democratic district leader, share DiResto’s thoughts on the subject. Gulluscio, a Howard Beach Democratic district leader, says he recognizes the individuals needs of each community.

What distinguishes DiResto, he said, is his background in public service. “Being a police officer, I’ve worked in areas where I didn’t live and I represented those people favorably. ... I understand better than other candidates the problems that average New Yorkers face.”

DiResto admitted that he doesn’t know all the complaints in every neighborhood and that he doesn’t even know every neighborhood like “the back of my hand.” But he wants to learn and plans to do so by holding town-hall style meetings, attending sessions held by community leaders throughout the district and, most importantly, listening.

DiResto admits that winning the special election won’t be easy, especially because he is considered a “political outsider.” But, he added, “the recent elections show that people are sick and tired of politics as usual and want real change.” With support from the community, DiResto believes he can bring that positive change to the district.

The non-partisan special election will likely take place in early February. It will be declared by the mayor in early January, after current City Councilman Joseph Addabbo Jr., who won the recent 15th Senatorial District seat, is sworn into the legislature on Jan. 1