N E W S NOVEMBER 14 L E H A V R E KATZ CONQUERS Health care, rebuilding on agenda Melinda Katz won the election to be the next Queens borough president. BY MELISSA CHAN Former legislator Melinda Katz will be the next Queens borough president. “We sent a message from the moment I announced my candidacy that we are a borough of diversity, and that is an asset,” Katz said. “It is not a fl aw in the borough of Queens and the City of New York.” The Democrat and heavy favorite in the race trounced her two challengers on Tuesday, November 5 with 80.3 percent, according to unofficial results, as 99 percent of precincts were reporting. Republican Tony Arcabascio netted 17.1 percent and third-party candidate Everly Brown, who came in last in the Democratic primary, took in 2.6 percent on the Jobs & Education line, early tallies showed. The seat was held by Helen Marshall since 2001. The longtime incumbent and borough’s fi rst black borough president is term-limited this year. She endorsed Katz, who served in the Assembly and City Council and was the director of community boards for former Borough President Claire Schulman. Katz will be the 19th Queens borough president. “Every borough president has their own way about them,” Katz said. “I’m excited about the future. Helen Marshall has served this borough for over 30 years as a public offi cial, 20 years before that as a civil rights advocate and an educator. I will continue her work, but I also have my own priorities and I look forward to working for those.” THE COURIER/Photo by Terence M. Cullen As results trickled in on election night, the Forest Hills mom of two was surrounded by supporters at her victory party held at the Queens Democratic Party’s headquarters on Austin Street. “We have had a whole gamut of support,” she said, attributing her victory in major part to the County organization. “I am extremely excited to be the next borough president. I’m glad the people of Queens put faith into my candidacy, and I will be very grateful to them.” The strong fi nish was anticipated this time, unlike the grueling September primary election Katz faced against Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. In the contentious race, Katz beat the longtime Astoria lawmaker by about 13,000 votes, according to offi cial Board of Elections results. Katz said her Borough Hall plans include making the Rockaway ferry permanent and creating a hotline for storm victims to get up-to-date information on the rebuilding process. She also said she will push for more primary and urgent care facilities, expand tax incentives for new or expanding businesses that hire locally and fund the growth of 1,000 more trees. Katz said it her job to “make sure that we not only get equal assets here in Queens, but we bring more money back to the borough of Queens because that is what we deserve here.” With additional reporting by Terence M. Cullen 14 LEHAVRE COURIER | NOVEMBER 2013 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan The Vallone’s 40-year legacy in City Hall will continue with the election of Paul Vallone (second from right). VALLONE LANDS BIG VICTORY BY MELISSA CHAN The 40-year Vallone legacy will live on in City Hall. Paul Vallone, 46, will carry his family’s name in the City Council for the next four years after winning election Tuesday to lead District 19 in northeast Queens. Vallone beat Republican Dennis Saffran with 57.2 percent of the vote, with all precincts reporting, according to preliminary results. “This was a fi ve-year journey that fi nished today,” Vallone said. “The good guys did it today.” The two were vying to replace scandalscarred incumbent Dan Halloran, who chose not to seek re-election after his April arrest on bribery charges. “They attacked. They lied. They lost,” Vallone said of his opponent’s campaign. “Those who lie don’t get a seat in this community anymore.” Vallone emerged in September as the winner of a crowded Democratic primary race that came down to the wire. He beat runner-up candidate Austin Shafran by nearly 200 votes after voting machines were checked and paper ballots were counted. One of Vallone’s primary foes, Paul Graziano, later crossed party lines to endorse Saffran. Halloran, a Republican, also crossed over, casting his vote for Vallone, he announced on his Facebook page on Election Day. “Voting today — for the fi rst time in my life voting for a Democratic city council candidate and candidate for public advocate,” Halloran wrote on his post, which was accompanied with a photo of Vallone’s campaign fl yers. He later congratulated Vallone with a Facebook post that said, “The Vallone family’s tradition of public service continues and I am sure Paul will work diligently for us.” Vallone, a Flushing attorney, is the son of former Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. and brother to Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. Vallone Sr. represented Astoria from 1974 until 2002 when his oldest son succeeded him. Vallone Jr. is termlimited out of offi ce this year. “I think it’s very, very important that we have one good, moderate voice in the City Council that can bring both sides together, resulting in a safer city,” said Vallone Sr. “That’s the way I tried to start it in 1974, and we have to do that again. If anybody can do it, it’s Paul Vallone.” Vallone Jr. shared the same sentiment, saying a “reasonable voice in City Hall is needed more than ever.” “I couldn’t be more proud of my little brother,” Vallone Jr. said. This will be the fi rst time in four decades a Vallone will represent northeast Queens instead of Astoria. The district runs from College Point to Auburndale-Flushing, Bayside, Whitestone, Bay Terrace, Douglaston and Little Neck. The area’s elected offi cials, the Queens Democratic Party and civic leaders who endorsed him welcomed the change. “We’ve restored some sanity to the 19th District,” said Warren Schreiber, president of the Bay Terrace Community Alliance. “The residents can now hold their heads high and be proud.”
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