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Monserrate Gets Help from <strike>Hostage</strike> Girlfriend on Election Day
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 16, 2010
Modified Mar 16, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 16, 2010
Modified Mar 16, 2010
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Today's the day voters in the 13th Senate District, which includes East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona, as well as parts of Elmhurst and Woodside, go to the polls to decide who gets the State Senate seat that formerly belonged to girlfriend-slasher Hiram Monserrate. And speaking of Monserrate's lady friend, Karla Giraldo has made a last-minute appeal to voters on behalf of the man who once "accidentally" cut her face with a glass and dragged her through a lobby. We're still trying to decipher her blinking to understand what she's really saying to voters in Morse code:
Today's special election comes after an increasingly sleazy (and absurd) campaign battle between Monserrate and his challenger, state Assemblyman Jose Peralta. The Times reports that "in a message posted to his Facebook page Saturday afternoon, Monserrate insinuated that Mr. Peralta had betrayed his wife." And Peralta's camp claims Monserrate supporters damaged four of its cars outside the campaign’s headquarters on Thursday. Also: anti-gay fliers were recently distributed claiming that Peralta is a pawn of "mega-rich gay fanatics."
Today Peralta's supporters hit back; according to one observer, some are handing out leaflets saying "Jose Peralta, not a wife beater." Monserrate is hoping that evangelical churchgoers will tip the balance for him because of his opposition to same-sex marriage. (One former Monserrate supporter has vented his sense of betrayal today, recalling how he took the Senator to his first gay bar.) At least Peralta has the full weight of the Democratic machine behind him, and last week's Siena College poll showed him ahead of Monserrate by 45 percentage points. Polls are open until 9 p.m.
Tagged
election
hiram monserrate
jose peralta
state senate
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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