By Dee Richard
From there, it was over to Dazies Restaurant in Sunnyside for the second half of our double header. It was to attend a fund-raiser for Debbie Markell, who is running for City Councilman Tony Avella's (D-Bayside) seat. Apparently she and the rest of the world are running for the 19th Council District seat, which seems to be one of the most hotly contested. Kathy Giuliani was one of the guests I have not seen in a while. She tells me she is now a registered lobbyist. By the way, former Queens Borough President Claire Schulman is endorsing Debbie. Good luck, Debbie!Wednesday was a superstar night. It was the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Accords and the first anniversary of the devolved government in Northern Ireland. The special guest star was Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States. The event was sponsored by the Emerald Isle Immigration Center and the Brehon Law Society. The chair and master of ceremonies was Brian O'Dwyer. A special presentation was made be Sean Crowley, president of the Brehon Society. The event was held at Gallagher's Steak House on West 52nd Street in Manhattan. I repeat, as I have in the past: Bill Clinton is one of the best speakers I ever heard. He can charm birds out of trees. Thank you, Jim Wrynn, for inviting me.Thursday was another double header. This time both events were held at the Roma View in Howard Beach. This sort of double header I appreciate because it makes the logistics of getting around simpler. In room No. 1, Frank Gulluscio held a fund-raiser. Frank is running for City Councilman Joe Addabbo's (D-Howard Beach) seat. It appears he has a good shot. Frank surely packed them in. It seems he is not lacking for supporters. Good luck, Frank!In the adjacent room at the Roma View, Tom Long and his Conservative Party were holding their annual Spring Cocktail Party Buffet Dinner. The Conservatives also filled the house. Queens is certainly becoming a premier political entity.Also on Thursday, the Old Glory Club in Middle Village had both Tom Ognibene and Anthony Como address its membership. Each candidate was trying to get the club's endorsement. I believe Como was their choice, but I had to leave before the vote. Both men are running for City Councilman Dennis Gallagher's (R-Middle Village) seat. Good luck, Anthony and Tom!Friday morning, Paul Vallone invited me to join him for breakfast at IHOP in Flushing. Incidentally, Paul happens to be a nice and decent young man. He wanted to introduce himself and tell me why he, too, will run for Avella's seat. It was an informative and enjoyable breakfast. Good luck, Paul!Saturday was my day with the accountant to prepare my income taxes. It was not quite as bad as I thought it would be. Considering death and taxes are unavoidable, taxes seem preferable.Saturday evening Honey Miller and the Eleanor Roosevelt Regular Democratic Club held their annual Awards-Dinner Dance at the Douglaston Manor. You should see the beautiful renovation job the Manor is undergoing. It has all the earmarks of a great place to hold a party. This year's honorees were John Durso, state Assemblywoman Ellen Young (D-Flushing), Swarangit Singh and Hiram Matthews. It was a lovely party and fun evening.Rumor has it this week that aides to Mayor Michael Bloomberg discussed finding a way for him to get around term limits so he could run for another four-year term. Bloomberg announced plans for a city Charter Revision Commission, but one has not been established. If it was, it would be a close call to get their proposed revisions: One could be doing away with term limits, voted on before the 2009 elections. Keep in mind the public has adamantly voted down tinkering with term limits when it was brought to them in the past as a referendum. What is going on, Mayor Mike?That's it for this week.I always look forward to hearing from you directly with information on people, parties, politics or some plain, old-fashioned gossip.I also like receiving your voice mail at 718-767-6484, your faxes at 718-746-0066 and your e-mail at deerrichard@aol.com.Till next week, Dee
