I recently had the opportunity to speak with Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio, who was one of my opponents in the 2008 election for U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman’s (D-Bayside) seat. Policarpio mentioned he felt hurt that the last article many voters saw involved the accusations from our election petitions dispute.
It is only fair voters should also know Policarpio ran the remainder of the race in an honorable manner. For instance, although tearing down opponent’s signs plagued many of last year’s races, Policarpio did not engage in such tactics. More importantly, while other opponents often refused to debate, Policarpio always stood willing to debate anywhere at anytime and kept his debate statements focused on important policy issues.
Thinking about this now is particularly timely. The local 2009 races are currently embroiled in petition disputes. Hopefully, we will get past this point and the remainder of the 2009 races will be honorably run, with full and fair candidate debates on the policy issues facing our community.
Elizabeth Berney
Former Candidate
U.S. House of Representatives
Bayside
