8 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Assemblyman Moya defeats disgraced state senator in Queens Council District primary
Photos by Angela Matua
Assemblyman Francisco Moya won the primary on Sept. 12 to represent Council
District 21.
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BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com
In a much buzzed-about primary contest,
residents of the 21st City Council
District in Queens chose to send to City
Hall a local lawmaker over a disgraced
state senator with a criminal record.
Assemblyman Francisco Moya, an
assemblyman representing Corona and
parts of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst
since 2010, won Tuesday’s Democratic
primary for the Council seat with 55.6
percent of the vote or 3,480 votes. His
opponent, former state Senator Hiram
Monserrate, received 2,782 votes.
Supporters gathered at Tony’s Pizza in
Corona to celebrate Moya’s win in the
race to replace outgoing Councilwoman
Julissa Ferreras-Copeland. Th e room was
also packed with elected offi cials including
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz; Council members Daniel Dromm,
Jimmy Van Bramer, Karen Koslowitz and
Donovan Richards; and Congressman Joe
Crowley, who also chairs the Queens
County Democratic Party.
“I want to thank the great people of the
21st Councilmanic District, the people
of LeFrak City, East Elmhurst, Jackson
Heights and Corona,” he said. “All of you
welcomed me with open arms and in my
many conversations with so many of you
in these past three months I’ve learned so
much about the direction that our community
needs to take.”
Moya received key
endorsements from
Governor Andrew Cuomo,
Mayor Bill de Blasio,
Crowley and a number of
unions.
Crowley said Moya’s victory
was a win for the entire
borough.
“What a great victory for
Francisco but for Queens
County,” he said. “We’re
sending a message that
Queens County elected offi -
cials are not about lining
their own pockets but about
lining the communities of
which they live in and delivering
for those communities.
Integrity and honesty
matters in public service.”
In the heavily Democratic district,
Moya is all but assured a victory in the
November general election. He would,
of course, resign his Assembly seat upon
taking the City Council offi ce in January.
As for Monserrate — who never let his
past prevent him from seeking offi ce —
the future is unclear.
Monserrate served in the State Senate
before being kicked out in 2010 aft er
being convicted on a misdemeanor
assault charge for slashing his girlfriend’s
face with a glass bottle. He tried to get
back into the State Senate in a special election
but lost to then-Assemblyman Jose
Peralta. Monserrate then ran for Peralta’s
former Assembly seat and lost to Moya.
He was later sentenced to two years in
jail for misusing about $100,000 in city
funds to pay for his 2006 Senate campaign.
Nevertheless, he re-emerged on
the political scene last year and ran for
Democratic District Leader, a race that he
lost by just 57 votes.
Monserrate also accused Moya of lying
about where he lives. Th ough the assemblyman
owns a Long Island
City condo, he said he lives
with his parents at their
home in Corona to take
care of his father who has
Parkinson’s disease.
“My father, my mother
my brother Edgar, we
endured a tough campaign
one that made it very diffi -
cult,” he said. “It was a nasty
campaign but you know
what? My parents raised me
right. We ran a clean campaign
that talked about real
issues that aff ected people of
this community.”
Monserrate garnered support
from LeFrak City residents
upset that their polling
place had been removed
and Bertha Lewis of Th e
Black Institute. In the end, the support
wasn’t enough.
At a building on Astoria Boulevard in
East Elmhurst, Monserrate had gathered
his supporters in anticipation of a victory.
But according to DNAinfo, aft er the
results came in, he ran from reporters; a
group of volunteers who said they hadn’t
been paid for their service also crowded
around the building.
QNS reached out to Monserrate’s campaign
for comment and is awaiting a
response.
Incumbent Koo wins Democratic primary for Flushing’s Council District seat
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Councilman Peter Koo is one step closer
to a third term representing Flushing.
Th e incumbent candidate edged out challenger
Alison Tan — a managing director
at a real estate capital advisory fi rm,
Community Board 7 member and wife of
Assemblyman Ron Kim — in the Sept. 12
Democratic primary. Koo received 57.9
percent, or 3,657 votes, while Tan received
41.67 percent, or 2,632 votes, according to
the Board of Elections website.
The self-proclaimed “Mayor of
Flushing” was fi rst elected to the seat in
2009.
At the Good Kitchen Seafood
Restaurant in downtown Flushing, Koo
addressed reporters and campaign supporters
in the wake of the news.
“I’m so proud and excited to be re-elected
as City Council member for District 20
and to have the opportunity to continue
to serve the Queens and Flushing communities,”
Koo said. “Th is was a spirited
race and I wish my opponent luck in
her future endeavors and work with the
community.”
Despite progress, the Councilman continued,
there is “still work to be done.”
“We were able to make a lot of positive
changes within our communities,”
he said. “But downtown Flushing
if overcrowded, and we must do more to
address the sanitary issues in our streets
and the environmental concerns in our
waterways.”
“From our youngest citizens to our oldest,
we can be doing more to improve
quality of life for all,” he continued.
Koo then thanked his supporters,
including Governor Andrew Cuomo,
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz, Congressman and Queens County
Democratic Party Chair Joe Crowley, and
his wife and two children.
“I will do my best to continue fi ghting
for you at City Council,” he closed.
“Going against the establishment
is always a tough endeavor, but clearly
our message resonated with the voters,”
Alison Tan said in a statement. “I am
incredibly humbled to have received the
support of more than 2,600 hardworking
men and women who believed in our
campaign to improve the quality of life
in Flushing for all of its residents. I congratulate
Mr. Koo on his re-election, and
I look forward to continuing to serve my
community and my city.”
Th e general election takes place on Nov.
7.
primary 2017
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Koo addresses media and supporters after the
win.