N E W S MAY 10 //// SCANDAL FALLOUT //// Race to replace embattled Halloran underway BY MELISSA CHAN The fi rst Republican candidate has thrown his hat in the ring to replace federally-indicted Councilmember Dan Halloran. Dennis Saffran, 57, said he is running in the 19th Council District to restore “the tradition of integrity and honesty in government.” The attorney from Douglaston ran for the seat in 2001 and narrowly lost to then- Councilmember Tony Avella. “I’m the strongest Republican candidate,” Saffran said. “I have a record of citywide and community involvement. I’ve been active in issues that turned New York City around.” Saffran is the vice president of the Douglaston Civic Association and works for the Nassau County Attorney’s offi ce. Halloran faces conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud charges over allegations he helped State Senator Malcolm Smith try to buy his way to the Republican mayoral nomination. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged a number of other state and city officials in the case as well. “He and I have never seen eye to eye on a lot of issues,” Saffran said of Halloran. “Given his arrest and indictment, he’s presumably not running, as far as I know. Nobody’s going to support him if he does. There’s essentially an open council seat.” There are also reports a former election foe of Halloran will seek his council spot. All City Council seats along with the mayor’s offi ce will be on the ballot in November. Halloran’s office could be up for special election before then, although Halloran has made no indication he will resign. The Korea Daily reports Democrat Kevin Kim, who lost a 2009 bid for the district seat to Halloran, has been mulling a run. Insiders say Republican Rudy S. Giuliani, second cousin to ex-mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and current chief of staff to Councilmember Eric Ulrich, might also be a candidate. Neither he nor Kim have made any offi cial announcements about Halloran’s seat. Democratic candidates who announced bids for Halloran’s seat prior to his arrest include ex-Assemblymember John Duane, attorney Paul Vallone, former governor’s aide Austin Shafran and urban planner Paul Graziano. L E H A V R E Anthony Como 10 LEHAVRE COURIER | MAY 2013 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM FURLOUGH FRUSTRATION Budget cuts and fewer air traffi c controllers cause delays Weather is not the only On Monday, April 22, thing delaying travelers this the first weekday of the week. furloughs, JFK already U.S. government experienced delays. spending cuts forced “I didn’t know about the Federal Aviation the furlough, but I’ve Administration (FAA) to been waiting for my fl ight ax $637 million from its for over an hour now. I’m budget this year and to flying to Tampa and it’s furlough it staff, the FAA been delayed,” said Matt confi rmed. Frankel. Air traffic controllers “My flight has been are now required to take delayed for almost two one day off without pay hours. This is ridiculous,” for every 10 days of work. said one traveler. That will come to 11 days But Joan Lamercka said of furlough per employee she had no issues with her by the end of the year. fl ight. With fewer eyes on the “My flight actually skies, the FAA estimates went pretty smoothly— the furlough could delay no delays. But I can see as many as 6,700 fl ights how this would cause per day at 13 of the problems,” she said. country’s largest hubs, The FAA said there were including John F. Kennedy 1,200 delays throughout International Airport and the counrty as a result of LaGuardia Airport. the furlough on Monday. The body attributed an additional 1,400 delays to the weather and other factors. Senator Charles Schumer said the FAA estimates there could be delays of up to 80 minutes out of LaGuardia and 50 minutes at JFK. He called on the Senate to repeal the cuts and is pushing to make up the revenue by closing tax loopholes. “These furloughs will turn every day into a blizzard as far as fl ying is concerned,” said Schumer. “These delays can and must be avoided by passing a balanced budget to repeal the sequester through both closing tax loopholes and by making smart cuts.” -Additional reporting by Luke Tabet THE COURIER/File photos Dennis Saffran Rudy S. Giuliani Kevin Kim COMO NAMED GOP VICE CHAIR BY TERENCE M. CULLEN F o r m e r C o u n c i l m e m b e r Anthony Como will become the new vice chair of the Queens GOP, replacing indicted attorney Vince Tabone. GOP chair Phil Ragusa confirmed Como would be taking over, saying the former city legislator would be a good fi t. “I know Anthony for a long time,” Ragusa said. “He was our city council candidate we ran against Liz Crowley. I had extensive conversations with him about the position.” Ragusa said the agreement to install Como was mutual. His experience as an elected offi cial would make him a good fi t for the party, he said. “I think he’s going to do a fi ne job,” Ragusa said. “He knows the political process like I know the political process.” Tabone was arrested on April 2 in connection with charges that he took bribe money to help get State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, on the mayoral ticket as a Republican. GOP Councilmember Dan Halloran is also accused of accepting $20,000 in bribes to sway party chairs to sign off on Smith’s Republican run. Como served in the city council for about six months, replacing disgraced Councilmember Dennis Gallagher in June 2008. He lost the general election to now- Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley in December of that year. When asked if Ragusa believes Como and his years of government experience would breathe new life into the party, the chair said the GOP was still strong and functioning. “We’re all here,” Ragusa said. “We’re working hard. Queens County is going to survive.” Ragusa said he has not spoken to Tabone, who was arraigned in federal court.
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