Ousted State Sen. Hiram Monserrate Loses Bid to Regain Seat as Assemblyman Jose Peralta Triumphs - NY Daily News

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A New York state senator who was expelled after a domestic violence conviction has lost his long-shot bid to get his seat back in a special election.

With 48 percent of the precincts reporting, Assemblyman Jose Peralta had 65 percent of the vote, while Hiram Monserrate had 27 percent. Local Democratic officials had endorsed Peralta, and he was 45 points ahead in a recent poll.

Republican candidate Robert Beltrani garnered 8 percent of the vote in the heavily Democratic district.

Monserrate was ousted from his seat in February after a misdemeanor conviction for dragging his girlfriend through an apartment lobby. He failed to get his expulsion blocked in federal court, but got on the ballot for the special election to fill his old seat in the 13th state Senate district in Queens.

Monserrate apologized for any discredit he brought to the Senate, but said the facial cut his girlfriend suffered that night was an accident. He said the surveillance footage of him pulling her by the arm showed him taking her to the hospital.

Also Tuesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals explained in writing its Friday decision to reject Monserrate's attempt to get his seat back through a lawsuit.

The court said that even if Monserrate had won in court, he still would not have won reinstatement or been able to cancel the special election.

The assault case was another black eye for state lawmakers already reeling from a series of corruption scandals.

Democratic party leaders had worked hard for Peralta, who raised far more money and grabbed virtually every endorsements from local party and labor leaders. Monserrate also was targeted for defeat by a gay rights group and was heckled at a candidates' debate last week.

But with special elections notoriously difficult to predict because of low turnout, the Peralta campaign focused on getting people to the polls.

As Monserrate Trial Nears, Peralta Prepares To Press His Own Case - City Hall News

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Popular Assembly member makes moves toward succession race, possible primary challenge...

Assembly Member José Peralta may still be a member of the Legislature’s lower chamber, but in the eyes of his colleagues, he is well on his way to a promotion.

In the cloakrooms of Albany, at least, he has earned a new nickname: “Senator Peralta.”

That has become a running joke among Peralta’s allies in the Assembly, according to one person who has heard the phrase whispered in the corridors of the Capitol. Many there consider his ascension to the Senate a fait accompli.

Peralta is already preparing a run next year for the seat of State Sen. Hiram Monserrate, according to Democrats in Queens and Albany with knowledge of the matter. Monserrate has been charged with slashing his girlfriend’s face with a broken glass, with his case scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 15. If convicted, Monserrate will automatically be removed from office.

Peralta, meanwhile, lies in wait. He is keeping his head down and his name out of the headlines, according to those close to him, but quietly putting the pieces together for a Senate campaign, should a jury find Monserrate guilty—or maybe even if not. He has discussed the idea with colleagues, and approached members of at least two organizations that would be influential in choosing a candidate to take Monserrate’s seat: the Working Families Party and SEIU 32 BJ.

“He and I have discussed that,” said Assembly Member Peter Rivera, a close friend and ally of Peralta’s. “He’d be the number-one candidate to replace Senator Monserrate, should Senator Monserrate become disabled because of any issues that happen in the very near future.”

If the seat did become open, Rivera, added, “I’d be an advocate for him to seriously consider moving to the Senate.”

Peralta has been encouraged by Democratic allies who remain angry at Monserrate for his role in instigating the Senate stalemate earlier this year, which threw the chamber into chaos and tarnished lawmakers across the state. Peralta has taken that anger as a sign that he can quietly begin assembling the support necessary to succeed Monserrate, even while Monserrate remains in office.

“There’s no question that he wants to do it,” said a Democratic staffer who works in Albany, and who has spoken with Peralta and has urged him to run for Monserrate’s seat.

The knottier question, Democrats said, was whether Peralta would challenge Monserrate should the senator survive his criminal trial and run for re-election next year. Many angry Democrats are searching for a credible challenger to Monserrate regardless of whether he is removed from office, but the organizations that influence and—more importantly—fund Democratic campaigns, such as labor unions, are less interested in seeing a battle royale.

“It’s not a question of, ‘Would he make a run if Hiram dropped out?’ If Hiram dropped out for one reason or another, he’s the guy,” said the staffer who has spoken with Peralta. “The only issue is whether or not Monserrate will still be there come next September.”

For the moment, the political players are taking a wait-and-see approach, as are most Queens Democrats. Even Monserrate’s former chief of staff and successor in the City Council, Julissa Ferreras, feels she must “stay on the fence,” according to one person close to her, in order to maintain her relationship with Peralta should he decide to run. Ferreras publicly expressed her disappointment with Monserrate for his temporary move to the Senate GOP conference, which instigated the Senate coup.

Both Monserrate and Peralta declined comment.

Queens Democrats say Monserrate remains popular in his core constituencies—among poor Latino voters, for example—but that there is considerable resentment in the parts of his district that he did not represent as a Council member, which do not know him as well.

“He’s king in Corona. He can do no wrong,” said one Queens Democratic staffer. “However, in Elmhurst … they’re holding his feet to the flames.”

That anger could be a springboard for Peralta, whose base is similar to Monserrate’s, but who remains widely respected within the political establishment.

“José is a consensus builder and knows how to work with people,” Rivera said. “Everybody looks at him as the leader of the Latino community, at least in Queens.”

Still, Rivera cautioned against predicting what might happen to Monserrate, who has routinely surprised Democratic leaders in the past.

“For anybody to assume that Monserrate is history,” Rivera said, “[that] would be making a bad assumption.”

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ABOVE: Illustration by Aggie Kenny

Monserrate Makes Way for Latina Candidate by Paul Leonard - Queens Chronicle

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It may be the turn of the Latinas in Queens.

Photo: Julissa Ferraras plans to announce her candidacy next month for the City Council seat vacated by state Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate. (photo by Marisol Diaz)

After watching Barack Obama break the ultimate racial barrier on his path to the presidency — and after serving as chief-of-staff for six years to the borough’s first Latino elected official, Councilman Hiram Monserrate — Julissa Ferreras is set to make some history of her own.

In all probability, Ferreras will soon announce her candidacy for the city council seat left vacant by Monserrate’s landslide state Senate victory.

If she wins the special election in February to serve the rest of her boss’ term, Ferreras will become the first Latina representative from Queens.

Though certainly buoyed by the strength of Monserrate’s political team and her own experience working for a high-profile elected official, Ferreras doesn’t take a victory for granted. “Hiram had his own doors to kick down, and he allowed me to walk through them,” she told the Queens Chronicle this week. “But I have my own barriers to knock down.”

Ferreras faces a potentially tough opponent in Francisco Moya, a community activist who once worked for Gov. David Paterson. Moya has indicated that he plans to run for Monserrate’s seat.

Both candidates started their political careers early, with Ferreras serving as a member of former Borough President Clare Schulman’s Youth Council and Moya starting a block association as a teenager.

Moya, 33, and Ferreras, 32, also share a common ethnic background and a decidedly progressive attitude toward government.

However, Ferreras has emerged with a slight advantage in the race to represent the 21th City Council District, which includes East Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights.

She reported almost $23,000 in contributions, according a campaign finance report filed with the state last July. That amount has risen to $35,000, according to Ferreras.

Moya has not yet disclosed any contributions to a possible City Council campaign.

Ferreras said she also is poised to secure the endorsement of two prominent Latino city representatives, Assemblyman Jose Peralta (D-Corona) and Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D-Williamsburg). “She undersands who the players are,” Peralta said. “But she has her own style, and that’s a bonus.”

But unanswered questions about a troubled nonprofit Ferreras headed may yet linger over her City Council campaign.

The group, Libre, which offers English language instruction, job placement and other services to the mostly Latino community in Corona, could not account for nearly $250,000 in city money appropriated by Monserrate, according to a report last month in the New York Times.

Ferreras served as chairwoman of Libre during the period of time examined in a city Department of Youth and Community Development audit, which uncovered the discrepancies.

“I was not responsible for the day-to-day operations at Libre,” Ferreras said. “I am open to work with any agency when or if they might call.”

At a JFK Democratic Club meeting last Wednesday night, Ferreras was scheduled to explain her role at Libre in greater detail.

Meanwhile, Moya has already begun framing his campaign as a struggle against a well-connected political insider, namely, Ferreras. “We need some changes to happen in our community,” Moya told the Daily News last week. “It’s not about creating little fiefdoms.”

However well-positioned she may be politically, Ferreras was quick to emphasize her community roots.

“I’ve walked every block in this neighborhood,” she said. “I know it better than most.”