Fox Challenging Hevesi; Nunes Challenging Huntley
By Eric Yun
Two interesting Democratic Party primaries on September 14 involve the 28th Assembly District and the 10th Senate District. In the 28th Assembly District, lawyer Joe Fox is challenging incumbent Andrew Hevesi, and in the 10th Senate District, Lynn Nunes is challenging incumbent Shirley Huntley.
Fox is counting on the “general voter dissatisfaction with the state of government,” and the current “dysfunction and embarrassments” in the political system. He believes Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) is part of the problem and has shown to be the “least inactive and the least influential legislature” in Albany.
He would work to enact real ethical reform into Albany and help solve the quality of life issues the plague his neighborhood. “I will actually solicit and encourage meetings with constituent groups,” Fox said,and help the communities that are being “underserved by the incumbent.”
Hevesi meanwhile believes he has done a good job helping the community. He has introduced legislation to try to fight the “garbage train” issue and has helped schools, parks and libraries, according to spokesman Doug Forand.
Hevesi also realizes that there is a strong anti-incumbent feeling in New York. However, Citizens Union, a non-partisan organization that publishes Gotham Gazette, named Hevesi as one of only three “preferred” incumbent Assembly Members facing a primary battle.
In the 10th Senate District, newcomer Lynn Nunes is mounting a strong challenge to Huntley (D-Jamaica), Nunes is no stranger to “long-shot” campaigns after coming within just four votes of unseating the late Thomas White for the City Council’s 28th District last year.
Many of Nunes’s biggest backers support his stance on gay marriage. Huntley was one of several Democrats who voted against the same-sex marriage bill last December. Huntley’s “no” vote and Nunes’s support of same sex marriage has earned him endorsements from gay rights groups across the city and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D- Manhattan).
Huntley countered that she voted against same-sex marriage because her constituents said they did not support it, according to the Gotham Gazette.
Showing posts with label joe fox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joe fox. Show all posts
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Challenger to Hevesi Quits Assembly Race
By Conor Greene
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi’s bid for re-election got much easier last week with the announcement that one of his Democratic challengers has abruptly ended her campaign.
Lilianna Zulunova, a 27-year-old adjunct professor at LaGuardia Community College, said in a statement that she is prematurely ending her bid to unseat Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) in the 28th Assembly district due to her May 3 marriage.
When announcing her campaign earlier this year, Zulunova touted prior experience running city Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s volunteer effort, working on former Senator John Sabini’s re-election campaigns and running Albert Cohen’s City Council bid last year. A native of Uzbekistan whose family emigrated when she was nine years old, Zulunova had made garnering support from central Queen's large Bukharian Jewish community a main focus of her campaign.
“As some of you know, on May 3 I got married to Rabbi Emanuel Yelizarov. This is an exciting time for my family and me,” said Zulunova in a statement released last Thursday. “It’s with this in mind that I have decided to put my family first and end my campaign. My obligations as a wife, and eventually as a mother, give me certainty that this is the right decision for me at this time.
When she announced her intentions to run for the Assembly earlier this year, Zulunova was critical of Hevesi due to his family’s political connections. “My opponent has had everything handed to him on a silver platter,” she wrote in a February e-mail to supporters. “He’s never had to work for anything in his life. Well, he’s going to have to work this summer.”
She added, “While my opponent has rubbed elbows with Albany elites and padded his campaign coffers with pension fund monies, I helped seniors get tax exemptions. I helped families stay in their homes and helped immigrants get the services they need to succeed as Americans.”
Zulunova vowed to stay involved in local issues moving forward, despite abandoning her campaign. “I still have a passion for public service. I still yearn to serve my neighbors and my community. And I will devote my time to giving back to Queens and the neighborhoods that have given me so much,” she said.
Hevesi was first elected through a special election in 2005 after former Assemblyman Michael Cohen resigned from office. Since then, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has launched an investigation into corruption involving the state pension fund during the time Andrew's father, Alan Hevesi, was state Comptroller. Former Liberal Party chairman Raymond Harding has admitted to ensuring that the Assembly seat became vacant in exchange for $800,000 in illegal payments.
Andrew Hevesi, who Cuomo has said was unaware of the political maneuvering that took place on his behalf, will still have at least one Democratic challenger to contend with. Joe Fox, an attorney who has lived in Forest Hills for 30 years, announced his intention to run last month.
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi’s bid for re-election got much easier last week with the announcement that one of his Democratic challengers has abruptly ended her campaign.
Lilianna Zulunova, a 27-year-old adjunct professor at LaGuardia Community College, said in a statement that she is prematurely ending her bid to unseat Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) in the 28th Assembly district due to her May 3 marriage.
When announcing her campaign earlier this year, Zulunova touted prior experience running city Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s volunteer effort, working on former Senator John Sabini’s re-election campaigns and running Albert Cohen’s City Council bid last year. A native of Uzbekistan whose family emigrated when she was nine years old, Zulunova had made garnering support from central Queen's large Bukharian Jewish community a main focus of her campaign.
“As some of you know, on May 3 I got married to Rabbi Emanuel Yelizarov. This is an exciting time for my family and me,” said Zulunova in a statement released last Thursday. “It’s with this in mind that I have decided to put my family first and end my campaign. My obligations as a wife, and eventually as a mother, give me certainty that this is the right decision for me at this time.
When she announced her intentions to run for the Assembly earlier this year, Zulunova was critical of Hevesi due to his family’s political connections. “My opponent has had everything handed to him on a silver platter,” she wrote in a February e-mail to supporters. “He’s never had to work for anything in his life. Well, he’s going to have to work this summer.”
She added, “While my opponent has rubbed elbows with Albany elites and padded his campaign coffers with pension fund monies, I helped seniors get tax exemptions. I helped families stay in their homes and helped immigrants get the services they need to succeed as Americans.”
Zulunova vowed to stay involved in local issues moving forward, despite abandoning her campaign. “I still have a passion for public service. I still yearn to serve my neighbors and my community. And I will devote my time to giving back to Queens and the neighborhoods that have given me so much,” she said.
Hevesi was first elected through a special election in 2005 after former Assemblyman Michael Cohen resigned from office. Since then, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has launched an investigation into corruption involving the state pension fund during the time Andrew's father, Alan Hevesi, was state Comptroller. Former Liberal Party chairman Raymond Harding has admitted to ensuring that the Assembly seat became vacant in exchange for $800,000 in illegal payments.
Andrew Hevesi, who Cuomo has said was unaware of the political maneuvering that took place on his behalf, will still have at least one Democratic challenger to contend with. Joe Fox, an attorney who has lived in Forest Hills for 30 years, announced his intention to run last month.
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