The Machinery Went To Work In Queens Yesterday

While we were all watching the returns of South Dakota and Montana, the speeches of McCain (if you can call it that), Clinton and Obama and the announcement of the Democratic nominee...the machine in Queens quietly hummed. A little over 7,600 people showed up for the special election in the 30th Council District and they split their votes mostly even between the establishment candidates and the ex-Councilman that occupied the seat. Charles Ober, the man who was worked for and in the community, endorsed by the Times and the progressive community barely got ten percent of the vote.

From The Daily Politics:

With 100 percent of the vote in, it appears the Republicans have just barely managed to hold on to the 30th CD seat that used to belong to former Councilman Dennis Gallagher, maintaining their three-member conference.

The unofficial results, according to the city Board of Elections, are as follows:

Anthony Como: 2,352, 31.71 percent.

Elizabeth Crowley: 2,282, 30.77 percent.

Thomas Ognibene: 2,031, 27.38 percent.

Charles Ober: 752, 10.14

UPDATE: There are 196 valid absentee ballots so far, according to board spokeswoman Valerie Vasquez-Rivera, and they can be received by the board up until next Tuesday.

I doubt 196 ballots can turn it for Crowley and it certainly won't help Ober or Ognibene. The two top vote-getters were the people the local committees were pushing. So with the split on the left, Como barely got a victory and maintains the three seat hold that Republicans have in the Democratic-dominated Council.

Election Day In Queens Today

Most of the national media will be focused on South Dakota and Montana today, but here in the five boroughs, there is a special election in the 30th Council District (Ridgewood, Middle Village, Glendale) to replace the disgraced Dennis Gallagher who made a deal to resign so that he wouldn't have to face a full trial that included an alleged rape. Now that he's gone and whittled the Republican delegation in the 51 seat body down to two, Democrats are looking get that much closer to a one party Council.

From The NYT City Room:

Most of the Democratic establishment in the borough is supporting Elizabeth S. Crowley, a developer of educational programs for nonprofit agencies. Ms. Crowley ran for the Council seat in 2001 and lost to Mr. Gallagher.

She 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.

Meanwhile, the candidate who is also considered to be highly formidable is Thomas V. Ognibene, who was Mr. Gallagher’s predecessor in the Council, having served from 1992 until 2001, when he was barred by term limits from running for re-election. He was also the Republican leader of the Council.

Another candidate is Anthony Como, a former Queens assistant district attorney and commissioner of the New York City Board of Elections. He is also a longtime aide to State Senator Serphin R. Maltese, a Republican. Mr. Como has been endorsed by the Republican Party organization in Queens.

The fourth candidate is Charles J. Ober, a financial executive and community activist who has worked on neighborhood initiatives against prostitution and graffiti.

The NY Times and many community activists Charles Ober and for many good reasons. Not only does Ober challenge the establishment (something that is going on all over the place) but has proven himself in his neighborhood and will do a great job representing the 30th CD.

A Council Race Grows In Queens

With all the news about Spitzer's prostitution scandal and newly-inaugurated Governor Paterson's affairs, it is understandable that many New Yorkers missed Councilman Dennis Gallagher's resignation after he made a plea deal to escape a trial and jail time over an alleged rape. There are just too many lurid sex (criminal or not) stories going on in the Empire State these days! Well anyways, now that Dennis is gone, the situation presents us with a brand-spanking new special election right across the East River in the 30th Council District.

From The NY Times:

Anyone can run who is a resident of the district — which includes Middle Village, Ridgewood and Glendale — and who collects 2,700 valid signatures from anyone in the district who is registered to vote. And the mayor is required to set a date for the election (with 45 days of the vacancy) within three days after Mr. Gallagher’s resignation takes effect.

But even though the election is nonpartisan, political affiliation, the power behind it, will clearly play a central role in the candidates’ campaigns.

The Democrats are expected to coalesce behind Elizabeth Crowley, in part because her cousin, United States Representative Joseph Crowley, is the Democratic Party chairman of Queens. Ms. Crowley, a developer of educational programs for nonprofit agencies who is also a member of the local chapter of the Building Trades Council.[...]

The Republicans are clearly less harmonious in their consideration regarding Mr. Gallagher’s successor. Philip Ragusa, the party chairman, said the organization will support Anthony Como, a commissioner with the New York City Board of Elections and longtime aide to State Senator Serphin Maltese. Mr. Como, a former assistant district attorney in Queens, ran unsuccessfully for the Assembly in 2005, losing to Andrew Hevesi, the son of former State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi.

But Mr. Como will face stiff competition from Thomas V. Ognibene, who represented the 30th Council District for 10 years, immediately before Mr. Gallagher. In fact, Mr. Gallagher was the chief lieutenant for Mr. Ognibene for many of his 10 years in the Council.

Looks like an interesting race will shape up in these Queens' neighborhoods. It's also an opportunity for the New York Democratic party to shave off one of three remaining Republican-held districts in the city. Currently Dems have 48 out of 51. So if you live in that part of Queens or if you want to see a Democrat replace a Republican, sign-up and help out.

Rape Versus Prostitution

Yes, the most prominent New York politician resigned yesterday due to his dealings in prostitution, the way he transferred money to finance it and of course transporting prostitutes across state lines. It was shameful, ridiculous, idiotic, stupid and you can use many more adjectives to describe Spitzer. Yet as bad as it was, in my book rape is far worse, because that isn't consensual and shows the worst in people. Now Dennis Gallagher hasn't been convicted of raping a woman in his office, but when you look at the details of a possible plea agreement, the situation looks terrible.

From The NY Times:

A New York City councilman accused of rape is close to a deal with prosecutors to avoid jail in return for his resigning from office, seeking alcohol abuse treatment and apologizing to the victim, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

The councilman, Dennis P. Gallagher, a Queens Republican, was initially charged with raping a woman in his campaign office in Middle Village in July after they met in a nearby bar. Mr. Gallagher, who is married and the father of three children, acknowledged a sexual encounter but said that it had been consensual.

In January, a State Supreme Court judge dismissed the indictment of Mr. Gallagher, saying that prosecutors had unfairly prejudiced the grand jury against him. The judge added, however, that the evidence was strong enough to warrant an indictment.

That ruling left the door open for prosecutors to present the case again to a new grand jury. The Queens district attorney, Richard A. Brown, said that he intended to seek a new indictment, but that has not happened.

A sticking point earlier in the plea discussions was whether Mr. Gallagher would be required to register as a sex offender. No such requirement is in the current proposed resolution of the case, according to one of the people familiar with the negotiations.

So basically they had a sexual encounter, he said it was consensual, she said it was rape. Except for Gallagher, everyone involved agrees there is enough to indict him. Now he's ready to make a deal to save himself from being a sex offender and having to serve time in jail for what he did. If he's innocent like he claims, then he should try to fight it, not make a deal, because it presumes some level of guilt.

So in one week, we could have two resignations from NY public officials. Damn, I wonder if that's a record. In any case, both men were wrong in what they did, and while Spitzer's meltdown will be more in the media's spotlight than Gallagher's, his is still far worse.

Dennis Gallagher, Do Not Pass Go

Well Councilman Gallagher won't be staying in jail anytime soon, but he was forced to turn himself in this morning to the authorities. A little over three hours ago, Dennis was booked for rape, assault and a criminal sex act.

The indictment is currently sealed, but expect it to be released later today. Basically the grand jury heard the story from each side in the case, and easily made the decision to let this go to trial.

He was smiling yesterday when he went to court, but I doubt there was any happy emotions from this indicted man today. Goodluck to the justice system in prosecuting him to the fullest extent of the law. Dennis has no business representing his slice of Queens, though if he wants to run for cell block president, then go ahead by all means.

Accused Of Raping A Grandmother, Gallagher Smiles

Dennis Gallagher left the courtroom smiling after giving testimony about a rape case that a 52 year old grandmother has brought against the Republican City Councilman from Queens. He says he has done nothing wrong, that she is only mad because he insists the encounter was a one night stand. The plantiff has a slightly different account of what happened.

From The Daily News:

A smiling Gallagher emerged from the courthouse after two hours of testimony about 4:45 p.m. "I know in the end I will be vindicated," he said.

His accuser, who testified before the grand jury for an hour last week, said she was the victim of a violent assault and that Gallagher is lying.

"He's going to say its consensual or whatever ... but it's all B.S.," the woman told The News.

Gallagher testified he met the woman at a well-known Middle Village watering hole, Danny Boy's, then went to his office for sex, the sources said.

The accuser told cops Gallagher offered her a ride home, but instead took her to the office, where he forced her onto her knees and tied her hands. He then allegedly raped her and forced her to perform oral sex, according to police reports obtained by The News.

She claims that he has everything to lose and there would be no reason for her to bring the suit if it weren't true. Gallagher says the only thing he did wrong was commit adultery. So he has already lied to his wife and abused the trust of their marriage. There is no reason to think he wouldn't continue to lie if the situation is as serious as the victim claims. Of course this will all have to be sorted out in trial, but starting out it will be an uphill battle for this adulterer and/or rapist to prove his innocence.