John Sabini

One angle I haven’t considered yet regarding the Queens County Democratic Party endorsement meeting on Friday is what it means for State Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith.  read more »

Assemblyman Jose Peralta, a Latino lawmaker who once supported State Senator John Sabini, yesterday made the case for Sabini's Puerto Rican challenger, Councilman Hiram Monserrate, in part because the district is becoming more Latino.

Sabini's answer to that? Barack Obama.  read more »

One of State Senator John Sabini’s longtime Hispanic supporters, Assemblyman Jose Peralta, is signaling that he may be ready to support Sabini’s likely challenger, City Councilman Hiram Monserrate.

In an interview earlier today, he told me he wasn't quite ready to make a formal endorsement, but that for Monserrate, "the time is now."  read more »

State Senator John Sabini is reportedly on the verge of losing the backing of the Queens Democratic County organization, which may endorse his likely 2008 challenger, City Councilman Hiram Monserrate.  read more »

Assemblyman Karim Camara of Brooklyn, who was arrested for D.U.I. last year, says a police videotape related to the case has been destroyed, leaving officials without what he called “the one objective piece of evidence.”  read more »

From earlier today, and worth mentioning if only for the unusual starkness of rhetoric:

State Senate Democrats are hoping stop private insurance companies from increasing the cost of health care for thousands of New Yorkers, arguing that a change in New York's three-tier system of calculating costs -- allowing insurance companies to apply for a Tier 4 reimbursement level -- would raise the price of prescription drugs for patients.  read more »

After State Senator John Sabini of Queens pleaded guilty to a D.U.I. in Albany, his likely primary challenger and politicial rival City Councilman Hiram Monserrate demanded that Sabini resign from office.

Now another local elected official—Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV of Manhattan—has been arrested for the same crime.  read more »

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State Senator John Sabini of Jackson Heights, Queens just released a statement (on basically busiest day of the political calendar!) announcing he pleaded guilty to “driving while impaired” and paid a $300 fine.

Sabini was arrested for the incident last year, and it’s only fueled the prospect that Sabini could face a difficult primary rematch from the term-limited City Councilman Hiram Monserrate, who almost unseated him in 2006.

Liz has more here.

Sabini’s statement is after the jump.  read more »

Shams Tarek is leaving his job as spokesman for Democratic State Senator John Sabini and going to work for Democratic City Councilman Jim Gennaro--both politicians represent Queens.

The move is significant, since it looks like Tarek, a veteran of at least two of Sabini's re-election campaigns, will not be on hand for what may be another tough re-election.

And it's may be an important advantage for Gennaro, who is looking to unseat Republican State Senator Frank Padavan. Tarek brings not only contacts in the state Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, but a long history in local Queens journalism (where he and I both worked for years).

More after the jump.  read more »

Hiram Monserrate's office was buglarized last night in what the Queens Democratic City Councilman is suggesting was a "politically motivated" crime.

From a public statement emailed earlier by Monserrate's office:

 

Like every office there are computers, printers, scanners and other equipment including a TV with DVD. However, the only equipment taken was a personal laptop. Also, what was taken was stationery. It is for this reason one begins to suspect the break–in was politically motivated.

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I reported earlier this week that Council member Hiram Monserrate sent a letter to his political rival, state Senator John Sabini, criticizing a Sabini staffer for comments allegedly made at a public meeting.

Here, for your curiosity, is Monserrate’s letter, and Sabini’s response, which Monserrate’s office sent over at my request.

(By the way, a statement I relayed in my first post is has a more detailed response from Sabini).

Here’s City Councilman Hiram Monserrate talking about a letter he wrote to state Senator John Sabini, a fellow Queens Democrat, criticizing a member of Sabini’s staff for allegedly making anti-immigrant comments at a recent public meeting in Queens.

It should be noted that there's some history here. Monserrate narrowly lost to Sabini in 2006 primary for the Senate seat, and is eyeing another run against him. The Sabini staffer accused of making the remarks, Marlene Tapper, lost a Council primary to Monserrate in 2005.

Sabini's office did not want to respond Monserrate's accusations before watching this video. I've sent it to them, and I haven't heard back.

 

Does anyone know anything else about this?

UPDATE: A spokesman for Sabini emailed this statement from the state Senator: "My office has responded to Councilman Monserrate's letter regarding my staff member. Her alleged comments were not made in the official capacity of my office, and I have taken the appropriate steps to ensure that such an incident does not occur in the future. Anyone who looks at my record, both legislatively and in the community, will easily see that I have been a strong supporter for the rights of immigrants and the gay and lesbian population and have fought against bigotry my entire life. It's a shame that when there are so many important issues facing New Yorkers, like a possible fare hike and hard economic times, that Councilman Monserrate is spending his time instead on an effort to smear one of my staff members for political gain."

Here's an invitation to a November 14 fund-raiser for state Senator John Sabini of Queens, which is being organized by Scott Stringer, the Manhattan Borough President.

Sabini is in a safely Democratic seat in Jackson Heights, Queens, but he may face a strong challenge from the Democratic City Councilman who almost beat him in a previous race, Hiram Monserrate.

For Stringer, the benefits of making friends outside Manhattan could pay off if and when he decides to seek higher office.

 

 

 

 

 

Just before city officials announced a crackdown on hate crimes yesterday, several cars in Jackson Heights were vandalized with racial slurs.

Above is a photograph from a blogger in Jackson Heights.

John Sabini issued a statement last night saying, “The residents of Jackson Heights have always been noted for their diversity and tolerance, and the crimes committed here recently are not just illegal but highly offensive. I call on the cowards who committed these acts to turn themselves in to the police immediately, and I call on the police to conduct a full and thorough investigation."

One of the state Senators who joined Eliot Spitzer when he originally announced his driver’s license policy was John Sabini, of Jackson Heights.

Sabini represents a large Hispanic and Asian constituency, and this issue has generally been one that the Senator, understandably, has followed closely.

I asked Sabini what his thoughts were on Spitzer’s compromise plan, which would allow illegal immigrants to obtain special driver’s licenses that couldn't be used in circumstances that require federally approved ID's.

In a statement, Sabini said, "I'm disappointed that the new policy was framed in the context of Real ID, because I feel that the trend, nationally state-by-state, has been against Real ID."

When state Senator John Sabini, who is from a very Democratic-leaning district in Jackson Heights, Queens, got arrested in Albany for drunk driving last month, I said that it wouldn’t be much of a threat to his re-election unless a Democrat ran against him in a primary.

That may now happen.

In this clip, City Councilman Hiram Monserrate, a former cop who came pretty close to ousting Sabini in 2006, talks about the possibility of making a rematch.

I was talking to a knowing Democrat about John Sabini’s recent run in with the law, who pointed out that although it’s never good to get busted for DUI, there's no obvious existential threat to Sabini's electoral career. Sabini had a couple of close elections, in 2006 and 2004, but those were primaries - challenges from other Democrats, not Republicans.

So before we can tell how serious this is, politically, we'll have to wait and see which Democrats are prepared to try to take advantage of the situation in an election year that will determine control of the state Senate.

Any predictions?

UPDATE: I asked Sabini's spokesman Shams Tarek about a rumor that his boss may want to run for his old City Council seat, which is already drawing interest a number of other likely Democratic candidates.

Tarek dismissed the idea, saying that Sabini is "staying in the State Senate and helping his fellow Democrats take the Majority."

While everyone is mining Andrew Cuomo’s report for reasons to beat up on Eliot Spitzer, there’s one thing being overlooked, according to Democratic state Senator John Sabini: the behavior of Joe Bruno.

The report cleared Bruno of violating the state’s prohibition of using state-funded transportation to go to political events. But that’s because the bar is set so low that even if official legislative business takes up only a fraction of the itinerary, that’s enough.

While praising Spitzer for punishing his aides for their wrongdoing, Sabini said, “I also think we should be looking at how political business gets married to government business regarding state planes.

And just who, by chance, could introduce such a topic in the middle of this storm?

“I think it would be refreshing if Senator Bruno initiated it. Saying, you know, the governor admitting that he’s done some things wrong here and now we should have a discussion about where we go with the use of state modes of transportation and political events.

“I mean, the fact of the matter is the train runs in New York City, the cars run in New York City and most of us don’t get around by helicopter, and do OK,” Sabini said.

Practically every major Democrat in the city was at the corner of 14th Street and First Avenue yesterday afternoon to announce the formation of a what they say is the largest housing coalition in the city’s history.

The group, New York Is Our Home, includes labor and tenant groups, the Working Families Party and others.

The most heated rhetoric (video here) came from the Central Labor Council's Ed Ott, who said, “The price of housing in this city is effectively theft” and that affordable housing units, like the ones in Stuyvesant Town behind him, “are being stolen by the greed of developers and the market.”

Which drew applause and energetic head nods from the crowd of elected officials behind him.

In attendance at the rally were Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson, Betsy Gotbaum, Tom Duane, John Sabini, Ruben Diaz, Jr., Keith Wright, Jonathan Bing, Linda Rosenthal, Dan Garodnick, Eric Gioia and Charles Barron, among others. Most of them spoke but none matched Ott’s directness.

After the speeches, the group formed a human chain around Stuy Town, which is several blocks long, and marched down to Union Square.

Practically every major Democrat in the city was at the corner of 14th Street and First Avenue yesterday afternoon to announce the formation of a what they say is the largest housing coalition in the city’s history.

The group, New York Is Our Home, includes labor and tenant groups, the Working Families Party and others.

The most heated rhetoric (video here) came from the Central Labor Council's Ed Ott, who said, “The price of housing in this city is effectively theft” and that affordable housing units, like the ones in Stuyvesant Town behind him, “are being stolen by the greed of developers and the market.”

Which drew applause and energetic head nods from the crowd of elected officials behind him.

In attendance at the rally were Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson, Betsy Gotbaum, Tom Duane, John Sabini, Ruben Diaz, Jr., Keith Wright, Jonathan Bing, Linda Rosenthal, Dan Garodnick, Eric Gioia and Charles Barron, among others. Most of them spoke but none matched Ott’s directness.

After the speeches, the group formed a human chain around Stuy Town, which is several blocks long, and marched down to Union Square.

UPDATE: Adolfo Carrion, Brian Kavanagh and Adam Clayton Powell IV also attended.

Republican state Senator Frank Padavan is scheduled to introduce a bill toughening the penalties on human trafficking when the state Senate reconvenes shortly. When he introduced this bill last year, Democratic Senator John Sabini introduced "a hostile amendment" that was essentially designed to make the bill more like a parallel offering in the Assembly.

The resulting exchange between the two legislators last year went something like this:

Sabini:

So I offer this amendment not in a sense that Senator Padavan's bill is bad -- no, it's good, and I intend to vote for it -- but rather to go to the victim's side of the equation and to get the state to step up to the plate and say we have to do something for these folks. And the amendment is offered in the spirit of helping those victims, Madam President.

Padavan:

Now, we have a difference of opinion. I think our Division of Criminal Justice Services, the Attorney General's office, our police departments, the federal agencies with whom they are to cooperate under this statute, are sufficient to do the job if we give them the law and the tools to do it with. We need not set up a new entity to supersede what is already in place in terms of structure and assets. That's where we differ.

-- Azi Paybarah

Yesterday, City Councilman Hiram Monserrate sent word that "66 votes separate" him from state Senator John Sabini in the Democratic primary for the 13th Senate district. That's "down from 208...rather than 208 votes as reported by the Board of Elections," Monserrate said.

Sabini's people responded a few hours later saying, "Sabini's lead grows to 248...Victory is nearly official."

Here is what the Board of Elections is reporting, as of 5:30 yesterday:

6,264 total votes for Sabini 6,120 from voting machines 32 emergency affidavits 112 paper ballots 6,017 total votes for Monserrate 5,943 from voting machines 22 emergency affidavits 52 paper ballots

Paper ballots are still being counted and results are unofficial until the Board of Election commissioners certify them.

In another close race, Shirley Huntley leads the outspoken state Senator Ada Smith. Paper ballots have not been counted yet. Here are the numbers so far:

6,333 total votes for Huntley 6.296 from voting machines 37 emergency affidavits 6,036 total votes for Smith 6,006 from voting machines 30 emergency affidavits -- Azi Paybarah

According to this fundraising flier, there is now a drink named after state Senator John Sabini of Queens.

And Mike Bloomberg only got a burger named after him.

Any other menu modifications the electorazzi have earned?

-- Azi Paybarah

In the category of strange, random things that come to our attention:

State Senator Ruben Diaz and City Councilman Hiram Monserrate - who is running for State Senate against incumbent John Sabini - somehow found their way into this video promotion for Dr. Jaerock Lee's appearance last month at Madison Square Garden.

And we somehow missed it.

Jaerock Lee - also known as Lee Jae-Rock - is a faith healer who made into the local news recently when an embarrassed David Wright appeared, then renounced his appearance, in a promotional ad for the event. (Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams and Manny Ramirez also took part in the promotional campaign.)

In addition to the individual testimonials, the ad for the MSG event features a narrator saying this sort of thing: "In the name of Jesus Christ, the blind have come to see, the mute speak, the lame stand up from wheelchairs and all kind of incurable diseases, included AIDS, have been healed."

Monserrate, in his brief appearance, said that he would "help get the word out to the people."

-- Josh Benson

Jackson Heights has been the front lines in the fight between the Queens Democratic Party and ethnic-driven insurgent candidates. So when it comes time to campaign, there's a mix of styles, which made this latest campaign filing between state Senator John Sabini and his challenger, Councilman Hiram Monserrate, so interesting.

Sabini, along with Councilwoman Helen Sears and Rep. Joseph Crowley represent growing immigrant communities in that part of Queens. For the last few years, several candidates have emerged from those communities to run for office, with a little help from Monserrate. Now, it's his turn.

The campaign filings show an interesting, if not counter-intuitive trend.

Sabini spent $3,300 on a sound truck and banner and Monserrate spent $10,000 printing campaign literature.

Go figure.

-- Azi Paybarah

Senator John Sabini of Jackson Heights, who is in a hard-fought re-election campaign against Hiram Monserrate, has just had two computers stolen from his campaign office, according to a campaign spokesman.

"We're going to have to be a lot more careful with how we store our data," Sabini's spokesman, Shams Tarek, told me.

According to Tarek, campaign workers discovered the theft this morning around 9:30 and called the police. Tarek said the place was not ransacked and nothing else was stolen. Just two computers.

"It's really suspicious, but we can't make assumptions who did this. John's been a campaigner for 14 years, and this never happened. He had a city council office across the street [from the campaign office] for 10 years and this never happened," Tarek said.

Two years ago, when Sabini ran against a candidate who was supported by Hiram Monserrate, one of Sabini's care tires was slashed.

Next Wednesday [time corrected], Sabini and Monserrate are meeting face to face for a debate. -- Azi Paybarah

And in a rare piece of non-Lieberman news, Mark Green will be doing a cross-endorsement later today with another candidate with light establishment support: Hiram Monserrate, whose state senate campaign against incumbent John Sabini has recently picked up some momentum -- or at least contributors.  read more »

-- Josh Benson

Tom Manton came to political prominence representing a conservative white Congressional district in  read more »

Can there be another Tom Manton?

He brought his county organization back from the wreckage of the Manes era, managing to impose something resembling unity on a wounded organization. And he did it in the face of massive change, staying ahead of Queens' radically changing demographics by supporting candidates from emerging ethnic communities.

Speculation has already begun about who the next long-term leader of the party will be. (Azi has something on that here.)

But another question to think about is whether that new leader, no matter who it is, will be able to produce the relative cohesiveness that Manton managed to maintain as a source of the party's strength.

John Sabini, who briefly ran the organization before Manton took over, says that it's possible, under one condition:

"If someone were to come along and be the inclusive fellow that Tom Manton was, then yes. Most political leaders -- and I started out as an insurgent under Donald Manes -- most political leaders have to have interest groups and minority groups beat their organization before they're dragged into the new world. He brought the party into the new world himself."

-- Josh Benson