By now, many New Yorkers have heard of City Councilman Dennis P. Gallagher. For most of his time in the Council, Mr. Gallagher, a Republican from Queens, managed to avoid citywide renown. But he made headlines in the past month, culminating with his indictment last week on 10 counts of rape, criminal sexual acts and assault. Prosecutors say he raped a woman in his campaign office. Mr. Gallagher has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
What fewer New Yorkers know, perhaps, is that Mr. Gallagher was considered one of the stars of the Republican Party in Queens.
And at age 43, the councilman was widely viewed as the heir apparent to State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, an 18-year veteran in Albany. And Republican Party leaders in Queens also considered him as a viable candidate for Queens borough president.
All of that is now in doubt. In pleading not guilty, Mr. Gallagher has said he had consensual sex. Even if he is found not guilty, Mr. Gallagher’s future within the party will probably remain cloudy at best. But if he is convicted, Mr. Gallagher, a married father of two, would be forced to leave office. And that would lead to a special election for the Council seat, which represents a section of Middle Village, Ridgewood and Glendale.
That raises the question: What kind of Republican farm team is there in Queens?
“We have plenty of young people who are out there,” said Philip Ragusa, the chairman of the Republican organization in Queens. “Whether they’re ready to run for office this very minute, I can’t tell you. But we have several people who are interested.”
Indeed, there are several Queens Republicans who say they are considering throwing their hats in the ring, whether for races for the Legislature in 2008 or the City Council the following year.
One, Eric A. Ulrich, has already established a committee and raised money to run for the City Council in 2009 that will be vacated by Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., a Democrat. Mr. Ulrich, 22, once worked as an aide to Councilman Gallagher but left within the last year. “I found that we were cut from two different cloths,” Mr. Ulrich said.
Mr. Ulrich noted that the 32nd Council District, in Ozone Park and Howard Beach, was represented by a Republican, Alfonse Stabile, before Mr. Addabbo’s election in 2001. “And it’s still a viable area for a Republican.”
And closer to Mr. Gallagher’s home base in Middle Village, there are a number of Republicans looking at running for office. One is former City Councilman Thomas V. Ognibene, Mr. Gallagher’s predecessor.
“This was originally the seat that I worked hard too create,” said Mr. Ognibene, 64, who was once the Council’s minority leader. “And I would look at seriously at it again.” He said he was referring to the 2009 race, when Mr. Gallagher is barred by term limits from running for re-election.
There is also Anthony Como, a commissioner with the city’s Board of Elections, who said he is considering running for office again, although he is not certain which office. Mr. Como, 33, ran for an Assembly seat in 2005, losing to Andrew Hevesi.
Running for the Assembly next year for for the City Council seat in 2009 are attractive options, he said. “We have a lot to look forward to in Queens,” Mr. Como said. “And if Giuliani is at the head of the Republican ticket next year, we could do well, locally.”
Another potential candidate is Gabriel Tapalaga, 34, a lawyer in private practice who ran for an Assembly seat in Queens about 10 years ago (he lost to Melinda R. Katz). He is a lawyer in private practice as well as secretary of the Queens Republican Party. He once worked as a prosecutor in the Queens district attorney’s office and as an aide to Mr. Ognibene.
“I’m happy to be viewed as someone who represents the future of the party,” Mr. Tapalaga said.
How successful these prospective candidates might be not certain. The number of Republican-elected officials from Queens has eroded sharply over the last 15 years or so. The borough has no Republicans in the Assembly and only Mr. Gallagher in the Council (State Senators Maltese and Frank Padavan remain in office). Many Democratic leaders in Queens say that the borough is becoming even more Democratic, and that Republicans will probably not fare well in future elections.
Still, there seems to be plenty of energy among Queens Republicans. Mr. Ragusa, the Republican chairman, faces a competitive race for district leader next month. And he will probably be challenged for the party chairmanship by Bart Haggerty, a member of the party’s county committee and the son of onetime Queens Republican chairman, Jack Haggerty.
“There’s no question about it,” Mr. Ragusa said. “There is still a lot of life left in the party in Queens.”