This is the first and only morning that I've woken up and thought "I sure wish I lived adjacent to La Guardia"! (Although I can see it being useful, what with all those flights and stuff.) But yes today our friends in Jackson Heights get to vote in the best special election ever. (We welcome on-the-ground reports from readers). The choice? Three men, including a not-very-interesting, middle-of-the-road (ish) conservative, a fairly consistent working-class liberal Democrat and... in the far corner... in the red trunks... rootin' tootin' face-slashin' Hiram Monserrate! I personally despise Monserrate for non-face-slashing reasons; having sat in on his Veteran Affairs committee meetings when he was a City Councilman, I watched him glad-hand adorable elderly gay veterans, only to later turn around and slash them in the face by opposing gay marriage in New York in the Senate. Ah, the land where you can marry your face-slasher but only if he's not of the same sex. But your reasons to despise him may be varied and diverse! For people who may be voting in this election, there's an actually useful breakdown from the Queens Tribune.
It goes pretty much like this:
If Peralta wins, the power in the Senate switches fully to the Democrats, who would hold a 32-30 margin, theoretically giving them all the votes they need to pass whatever they want. If the Republican wins, the Senate will split 31-31, keeping either party short of owning a party-based vote. If Monserrate wins, there is no telling what he will do, having helped throw the Senate into chaos last June when he voted with the Republicans and forced Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith out of power.
CHAOS! NO TELLING! Love it.
I really hope Monserrate can slash his way back into power.
Mr. Choire: As a former staffer at the Council, I simply cannot believe you sat in on these hearings. Why? WHY WHY WHY?
Whatever happens, we will always have our memories of Monserrate's transformation from insider hack to populist outsider, with a little undercurrent of face-slashing.
kneetoe: As a fellow former staffer at the Council, I must say I miss the Board of Estimates. I got some of my most restful sleep during those magnum-of-chloroform hearings as a young, impressionable intern.
Post BOE, for policy people, budget hearings were similar.
That is the smiling face of 80 IQ points saying "Hello!"
I saw a clip of Peralta's campaign TV ad, which was basically just the security-camera footage of Monserrate dragging his gf/victim through her building's lobby. Under any other circumstances I would consider that dirty politics, but in this case it seems fair, since that footage is the very reason they're having this election. That's how bizarre this whole thing is. (Also: Monserrate now says, if Peralta wins, he will probably run for Peralta's vacant Assembly seat. THIS GUY!)
This is my neighborhood. For the last week, my phone has been ringing incessantly with pleas to vote for Peralta, and my mailbox has been filling up with his shiny flyers and magnets(!). According the Jackson Heights listerv, all of this has led to...112 people voting in my district (35), as of about 1pm. The numbers are supposed to be about the same for neighboring districts.