26 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 2, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
politics
Minching makes his case to unseat Avella in state Senate race
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
For Republican candidate Simon
Minching, the recent dissolution of the
Independent Democratic Conference
(IDC), a group of Democrats that caucused
separately from other Democratic
members of the state Senate, is what
prompted his run against Tony Avella
in northeast Queens’ 11th Senatorial
District.
Avella, who currently represents Bayside,
Flushing, Whitestone, Douglaston and
College Point in the State Senate, was a
member of the IDC since 2014.
“I may be in the minority here, but
I actually liked the IDC as a principal,
because I saw them as a centrist
group of Democrats that worked together
with Republicans and caucused with
Republicans to actually get things done,”
he told QNS in an interview. “Once it
became public that they’re probably going
to dissolve, and given the atmosphere in
Albany, I decided ‘Hey, we need somebody
in there to actually give voters a
credible choice.’”
Minching 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. Th e
Queens native 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.
Minching spoke about overdevelopment
in the district — an issue locally
highlighted most recently with the protest
of a proposed four-story complex, which
is slated to contain 18 housing units and
a daycare center, in the Bay Terrace section
of Bayside.
Minching proposes a “root-cause analysis
approach” to address the issue’s cause,
which he says is a lack of aff ordable housing
throughout the city. Giving developers
an incentive to build aff ordable housing
“in the center of the city” (Manhattan,
Long Island City and Williamsburg)
would improve the issue of overdevelopment
here in northeast Queens “downstream”,
he posed.
“Th ere would be less of an incentive to
put in a 18-unit apartment building on
14th Avenue, where it doesn’t belong,”
he said.
Th is diff ers from the senator’s approach
to this and other issues, he said, which
Minching described as “an organizer’s
rallying tactic.”
“Development is a bipartisan issue,
something that myself and Senator Avella
can agree on,” he said. “I think where
we diff er is specifi cally what the solutions
are.”
With regards to education, Minching
said issues of school overcrowding can’t
be addressed “without either creating
more seats or being exclusive.” He
spoke in favor of constructing more seats
throughout the district to address the
issue, which he cites as one of the “three
pillars” of his campaign.
“I really do think that my personal
ambition, my personal will to cut through
complexity and get things done, is well
suited for the role, and that’s why I put
my hat in the ring,” he said.
Vickie Palladino is also seeking the
Republican nomination for the seat.
John Liu, a former New York City
comptroller and councilman, recently
announced he would challenge Avella for
the Democratic nomination in the Sept.
13 primary election.
Photo: Suzanne Monteverdi/THE COURIER
Queens councilmen announce they’re backing
Sklarz over incumbent Barnwell for state Assembly
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Councilmen Jimmy Van Bramer
and Daniel Dromm announced their
endorsements of Melissa Sklarz for state
Assembly on Friday morning.
Th e candidate is challenging incumbent
Assemblyman Brian Barnwell for the
30th Assembly District seat. Th e assemblyman
assumed his position in January
2017 and has been serving Woodside
and Maspeth plus parts of Sunnyside,
Astoria, Long Island City, Elmhurst and
Middle Village. If elected, Sklarz will be
the fi rst transgender Assembly member
to serve in New York.
“I am proud to endorse Melissa Sklarz
for state Assembly because it’s clear she
has a vision for change, and the experience
needed to get results up in Albany,”
Dromm said. “As someone who ran an
insurgent campaign for City Council in
2009, with the help of people like Melissa,
I know that she will go to Albany ready
to challenge authority and stand up for
what is right. I am proud to support her
and call her a friend.”
Van Bramer praised the candidate in
his endorsement and mentioned that
Albany is in need of progressive leaders
like Sklarz, who will protect the rights of
all New Yorkers.
“Queens values are under attack and
we need progressive leaders in Albany
who are ready to stand up and protect
the rights of all New Yorkers,” Van
Bramer said. “Over the years, Melissa has
exhibited a rare ability to build broadbased
coalitions to solve issues. I know
she will provide strong leadership and be
an outspoken voice for aff ordable housing,
public transportation, education,
women, immigrants, and the LGBTQ
community.”
Both Van Bramer and Dromm confi
rmed their endorsements on Twitter
earlier today.
In 1999, Sklarz served as a judicial
delegate in Manhattan’s 66th Assembly
District, becoming the fi rst trans person
elected to any offi ce in New York state.
To date, Sklarz has received endorsements
from the National Institute for
Reproductive Health Action Fund,
National Association of Social Workers,
Citizen Action, Victory Fund, Lesbian
and Gay Democratic Club of Queens, Jim
Owles Liberal Democratic Club and the
Stonewall Democratic Club.
Th e Democratic primary between
Sklarz and Barnwell will take place on
Sept. 13. Th e winner of the primary will
go on to the Nov. 6 general election.
Photo via twitter.com/JimmyVanBramer
Councilmen Jimmy Van Bramer and Daniel Dromm endorse Melissa Sklarz for state Assembly.
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