GOP chair says they won’t recruit Dem. to defeat Cabán
Many speculated that Republicans would turn to Greg Lasak or Melinda Katz in November
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI AND
MARK HALLUM
Moderate and conservative
Democrats across Queens face
a daunting question should
Tiffany Cabán’s win in the
district attorney primary
become official: Do they vote
for the far left progressive
come November, or hold
their noses and elect the
Republican candidate?
At the moment, the
latter choice is Ozone Park
attorney Daniel Kogan. The
Republican doesn’t have a
campaign website or social
media presence — and,
according to published
reports, the willingness to run
a competitive race against the
likely Democratic nominee.
In post-primary interviews
with The City and the New
York Post, Kogan said that he
doesn’t anticipate running
a vigorous campaign,
knowing that he would be
an overwhelming underdog
in this overwhelmingly
Democratic borough.
That sent GOP leaders
in Queens scrambling for
answers and even alternatives.
The Post reported that they’ve
reached such a desperate
point that they’re willing to
approach two Democrats —
Borough President Melinda
Katz, who finished second in
the primary and is waiting
for all the votes to be counted
before making any confession,
and retired Judge Gregory
Lasak — about running
for DA on their party line
in November.
So far, according to the
Post report, Lasak declined
to comment, and Katz’s
representatives said they
were more focused on the vote
count in the still-unofficial
DA primary race. Yet, in
that same Post report, City
Councilman Eric Ulrich — the
Ozone Park-based lawmaker
who is currently Queens’ only
Republican elected official —
claimed that both candidates
had a path toward gaining the
Republican line.
But Joann Ariola, chair
of the Queens County
Republican Party, told QNS on
Illustration via QNS from file and Twitter photos, @GregLasak
Thursday that there have been
no discussions over whether
they would consider giving
Katz or Lasak their line in
the general election. Further,
Ariola said there have been no
discussions with Meeks and
that they would stick by their
man, Kogan.
“We are committed to
running a candidate that
we have on the ballot,”
Ariola said. “I know there’s
been back-and-forth that
his campaign hasn’t been
started yet, but it hasn’t been
our campaign yet. It’s been
all about the Democratic
primary, but we’re committed
to putting together a rigorous
campaign for him and
give Queens a choice for
district attorney.”
Ariola asserted that the
county GOP has not considered
any other candidate other
than Kogan, and stressed the
importance of beating Cabán
in the interest of thwarting
her controversial goals.
“My conversations with
him – and I’ve only had
conversations with him, not
with the Democratic Party,
not with the candidates who
were unsuccessful in the
primary election – it’s been
only about what we will do to
strategize and raise money
and make sure that we will
be successful in November,”
Ariola said. “We really have to
have a candidate and I believe
he is that candidate. But we
need a candidate who can
beat Tiffany Cabán because
to sum her up, she is a get-outof
jail-free card and that’s not
something we can put up with
here in Queens County or in
this state.”
Read more at QNS.com.
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20 TIMESLEDGER, JULY 5-11, 2019 QNS.COM
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