FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 19, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 23
Two Republicans launch bids for Avella’s Queens state Senate seat
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Two candidates are seeking to unseat
state Senator Tony Avella as a representative
of areas including Bayside, Flushing,
Whitestone, Douglaston and College Point.
Simon Minching of Little Neck has
announced a run for the District 11 seat.
According to Board of Elections records,
Minching fi led with the agency on March
13. He seeks the Republican nomination.
Th e New York native attended Benjamin
Cardozo High School in Bayside,
received his bachelor’s degree from St.
John’s University and earned a master’s
in Public Policy from the University of
Chicago. He’s worked as a researcher for
the United Nations Association and a
senior budget analyst for Chicago’s public
schools system.
Currently, Minching works in business
development for Palantir Technologies, a
multibillion-dollar private soft ware and
services company.
“Northeast Queens was a fantastic
place to grow up, but over the last eight
years politicians have ignored growing
problems facing our community and
our state,” Minching said in a statement.
“Th e three pillars of my campaign are
enhanced economic growth and greater
aff ordability, ensuring quality education
and reducing the overcrowding in
northeast Queens’ public schools, and
major ethics reform, including term limits.
I am leading by example on that issue
and, if elected, will self-impose a limit of
no more than three terms.”
Vickie Paladino is also seeking the
Republican nomination. The lifelong
Whitestone resident attended Flushing High
School and Saint Helena’s High School of
Business. She ran a local landscaping business
with her husband for three decades.
Paladino gained notoriety last summer
aft er a confrontation with Mayor
Bill de Blasio about his controversial trip
to Germany to join G-20 protesters in
Hamburg. Th e mayor was in Whitestone
to announce funding to fi x city sidewalks
damaged by tree roots. Th e exchange was
captured on video and covered by a number
of national news outlets.
“Our quality of life is in decline,”
Paladino writes on her campaign page.
“Taxes are up. Cost of living skyrocketing.
And our neighborhoods are becoming
more and more overcrowded every day.
Th e political establishment in Albany and
City Hall do not care about us, but I do.”
Avella served in the New York City
Council before he was elected to the 11th
state Senate District for the fi rst time in
2010. He is currently serving his fourth
term in the seat.
Avella has been a member of the
Independent Democratic Conference
(IDC), a group of Democrats that caucus
separately from other Democratic
members of the state Senate, since 2014.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a
reunifi cation plan earlier this month.
In the last election for the seat in 2016,
Avella was challenged by former prosecutor
Mark Cipolla, who ran under the Republican,
Conservative and Reform parties.
When QNS reached out to Avella’s
offi ce for comment, a spokesperson said
the lawmaker “never comments on his
opponents.”
“Rather, Senator Avella runs on his
record, on his accomplishments for his
constituents and the state as a whole, and
what he will continue to do as senator,”
the spokesperson continued. “Senator
Avella runs the same campaign every
election regardless of who the opponent is
and lets the voters in the democratic process
decide.”
Second Queens Council member throws his hat into the 2021 boro prez race
Photo by William Alatriste
Councilman Costa Constantinides may be running for Queens Borough President in 2021.
Photos via simonforny/VickiePaladinoNYC
Simon Minching (left) and Vickie Paladino are pursuing the Republican nomination
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
Councilman Costa
Constantinides, the Astoria lawmaker
who was overwhelmingly
elected to his second term in
offi ce, is already planning for
his future when his term expires
in 2021.
Th e councilman held a fundraiser
on April 11 at Trattoria
L’Incontro in Astoria and was
collecting donations of up to
$3,850, which is the maximum
amount he can seek for Queens
borough president, Astoria Post
fi rst reported.
While Constantinides has not
confi rmed that he was running
for borough president, the invitation
makes it clear that he is
seeking higher offi ce: “I hope I
can count on you as we expand
upon our legacy and fi ght for
higher offi ce aft er my current
term ends.”
“Th rough my service on the
City Council, I am proud of
everything we’ve been able to
accomplish for our community
including better access to
healthcare, new ferry service
and key investments in our public
schools,” he said in a statement.
“I am committed to fi ghting
for Queens and addressing
the challenges that remain
throughout the rest of my time
in offi ce. I am also eager to
explore opportunities to continue
to serve the people of Queens
and fi ght for a brighter future.”
Constantinides covers the
22nd Council District, which
spans Astoria, parts of Jackson
Heights, Woodside and East
Elmhurst. He also serves as the
chair for the Committee on
Environmental Protection.
Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer, who represents Long
Island City, Sunnyside and
Woodside, also announced his
intention to run for Queens
Borough President in February.
Current Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz is
rumored to be running for a
citywide post and formed a Katz
2021 campaign committee last
December.
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