By Anna Gustafson
This year’s campaign trail has been a rocky one for Forest Hills resident Michael Cohen, a Democratic candidate for City Councilwoman Melinda Katz’s (D−Forest Hills) seat.
Besides all the typical campaign fanfare — debates, talking to district residents, interviewing for endorsements — Cohen said he expects voters to be “skeptical” due to the controversy surrounding state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s investigation into former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi’s office.
Cuomo filed charges at the end of April against Raymond Harding, the former state Liberal Party chairman, claiming he received illegal fees tied to state pension fund investments in exchange for political favors, including opening up Cohen’s state Assembly seat for Andrew Hevesi (D−Forest Hills), Alan Hevesi’s son.
Harding allegedly helped Cohen to land a six−figure job at a health insurance company in 2005, which paved the way for the state Legislature seat to be vacant for Andrew Hevesi, according to the charges filed by Cuomo’s office. Cohen, a Forest Hills resident, was not a target of the investigation.
“It’s going to hurt to some degree,” Cohen said of the investigation. “I understand the mindset of voters, and I understand they have a predilection to be skeptical of politicians.”
Cohen, who said he knew nothing about what the attorney general is now accusing Harding of, left the state Assembly in 2005 and took a $150,000−per−year job at the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, where he is no longer employed. The candidate had told TimesLedger Newspapers when he stepped down he was doing so in order to care for his ill wife.
“I needed to resign because of personal reasons,” Cohen said Friday. “I’m not the subject of an investigation.”
Cohen said no individual district residents have discussed the matter with him, although it has surfaced while he has interviewed for endorsements. Cohen has been endorsed by Local 1056, a group with more than 1,700 transit workers.
He did not get the backing of the Queens County Democrats for the race for the 29th Council District, which includes Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens and parts of Richmond Hill, Maspeth and Elmhurst. The group instead threw its support behind Democratic candidate Karen Koslowitz, who held the seat before Katz. Koslowitz is currently the director of community boards at Borough Hall.
“As far as electability, I find it to be a minor factor who the Queens County Democrats endorse,” Cohen said. “Yes, I would’ve liked to be endorsed.”
Other candidates in the race for the seat being vacated by Katz include Heidi Harrison Chain, Lynn Schulman, Mel Gagarin and Joseph Nocerino, all Democrats.
Cohen said if elected, he would focus on restoring the stock transfer tax to help mitigate the city’s financial woes. He said the tax restoration could create billions in revenue for the city.
“They’re cutting education and MTA fares are going up, and we have people who got us into this financial mess and nobody’s looking to them to contribute.”
Cohen also wants to work on installing speed photo radar on area roads, especially on Queens Boulevard.
He, too, would like to ensure that the Council has the final say on all taxes, fees and charges levied against residents and businesses. Cohen said the city Water Board should not have the power to approve rate hikes nor should the city Department of Transportation be able to change parking meter fares. Residents in much of Queens now have to pay 25 cents for 20 minutes instead of 25 cents for 30 minutes.
Cohen said he plans to sponsor legislation to restore the two−term limit for city elected officials. He said his background in the Assembly, where he served from 1999−2005, would help him to push through legislation in the Council.
“If there’s anything my Albany experience taught me is a minority can stop a bill, and you need to bring together all parties concerned,” Cohen said.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e−mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 174.
