By Kathianne Boniello
While Douglaston lawyer Dennis Saffran is the only Republican running for City Councilman Mike Abel’s (R-Bayside) seat this fall, at least one northeast Queens conservative leader has decided not to tow the party line to support his campaign.
In fact, last week Bill Lewis, a Douglaston resident who heads the Bayside Conservative Party Club, took Saffran and the Queens Conservative Party to court, challenging Saffran’s designation as the Conservative party candidate for Abel’s seat.
Both Saffran and Tom Long, county leader for the Queens Conservative Party, denied Lewis’ claims that Saffran’s official party designation in April was improperly conducted and therefore illegal. Long described Lewis as one — if not the only — opponent of Saffran within the conservative party.
A State Supreme Court Judge dismissed Lewis’ case Aug. 6 on a technicality, according to court papers.
Saffran is running on the Republican, Conservative and Independent party lines in the November election for Abel’s post in the 19th City Council District and has been endorsed by both Abel and longtime state senator, Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose). There are also five Democratic candidates running for the seat as well who will face off in the Sept. 11 primary for the chance to get on the ballot for November.
Abel will be forced out of office this year by the city’s term limits law. The Bayside Republican, one of only three in the City Council, had announced his intentions to run for Queens borough president in 1999 but dropped out of the race earlier this year due to a lack of funds.
The 19th Councilmanic District covers most of northeast Queens and includes the communities of Bayside, Bay Terrace, Whitestone, College Point, Malba, Douglas Manor, Beechurst, and parts of Douglaston, Little Neck, Auburndale, Linden Hill, and Murray Hill.
Even though Lewis’ case against Saffran’s candidacy and the Queens Conservative Party was thrown out last week, the feisty northeast Queens district leader said the defeat would not lessen his resolve to fight the lawyer’s status as a Conservative candidate.
“We made our point in court that Mr. Saffran did not receive the official designation of the Queens County Conservative Party,” he said in an interview Monday. “The judge chose what I consider to be a frivolous technicality to dismiss our case.”
Lewis has claimed in documents to both the city Board of Elections and State Supreme Court that paperwork authorizing Saffran to run as a Conservative was falsified, rendering his candidacy null and void.
According to court documents State Supreme Court Judge Robert Kohm dismissed the case Aug. 6 because the Executive Committee of the Queens Conservative Party was not properly informed about the case.
Saffran said he was willing to sit down with Lewis about his concerns.
“He has no other supporters in the Conservative Party,” Saffran said. “But I would like to have his support. I would be willing to talk to him any time.”
Long described Lewis as a maverick who often bucks the party machine.
“He’s out there by himself,” Long said. “Mr. Lewis is in some instances a lone wolf.”
Long said the vote to authorize Saffran as a Conservative Party candidate was unanimous with the exception of Lewis’ abstention and contended that Lewis failed to produce an alternative candidate for the party’s consideration.
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 146.
