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Ousted Senator Monserrate Gunning for Assembly
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 18, 2010
Modified Mar 18, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 18, 2010
Modified Mar 18, 2010
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On Tuesday night, disgraced State Senator Hiram Monserrate conceded defeat to Assemblyman Jose Peralta, after Peralta thoroughly Heisman'd Monserrate in his quixotic attempt to reclaim his old Senate seat. During Peralta's celebration, City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Queens) crowed, "This is the final nail in Hiram Monserrate's coffin, and we are burying him!" Well, he may have slept in yesterday, but look who's back from the dead—and lumbering toward the Assembly seat now vacated by Peralta!
When a reporter from the Times reached Monserrate yesterday afternoon at 4 p.m., "He sounded as if he had just woken up and hadn’t yet bothered to read the newspapers. 'I did get a good night’s sleep for the first time in a month,' Monserrate said. "The election was over and I didn’t have to be out the door at 6 in the morning, 7 in the morning, to start campaigning." But a rolling Hiram gathers no moss, and rumor has it that Monserrate is considering running for the State Assembly, now that Peralta doesn't need his seat anymore. No reason to let it go to waste!
Of course, that's partially up to Governor Paterson, who must now use his signature King Solomon wisdom to decide whether to hold a special election to fill the Assembly seat or leave it open until November's general election. Two candidates have already tossed their hats in the ring: Democrats Francisco Moya and Bryan Pu-Folkes, who've both got failed City Council bids under their belts. Political consultant Scott Levenson tells the Daily News that "if Mr. Monserrate ran, he would be running for his existence. It would be his last gasp." How many last gasps does this girlfriend-beater get?!
In his Times interview, Monserrate reflected on his loss, which he blamed on "a lot of emotional hysteria out there," on a "tremendous aggressiveness" from the Jackson Heights gay community, and on State election laws:
That’s the problem with state election laws,” he said. “If there’s a vacancy and a special election is called, party bosses decide who is going to run under the party line, while in the city, special elections are nonpartisan. I’ll advocate for a change in this process... I’m not ruling anything out. Everything is on the table. What I know is that I’ll continue to be a voice for the little guy.
Heads up, Little Guy: time to stock up on more wooden stakes and garlic.
Tagged
election
fail
hiram monserrate
jackson heights
peralta
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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