By Joe Anuta
State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) cannot get his name off the ballot for borough president despite his surprising announcement last week that he would drop out of the race.
The outspoken senator issued a statement Aug. 14 indicating he wanted to focus on his current job in Albany rather than continue down the home stretch to replace Borough President Helen Marshall.
“From protecting against the threat of hydrofracking to preserving women’s rights, there is a lot of unfinished business in Albany, and I hope to take more of a leadership role in helping address these important issues, which reverberate beyond Queens and affect people across the entire state,” he said in a statement.
But election laws dictate that Avella’s name will still appear on the ballot for the Sept. 10 primary, according to the city Board of Elections, alongside the names of his Democratic competitors: former state Assemblywoman Melinda Katz, businessman Everly Brown and City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria).
Only candidates who move to another state, who run for higher office or who die can have their monikers stricken from the record, the BOE said. In each of those cases, a group of people preselected by the candidate would pick a replacement.
The timing of Avella’s announcement left many in the borough scratching their heads.
He had collected more than enough signatures to get on the ballot, and had already qualified for the city’s matching funds program, which pumps money into a candidate’s coffers on a 6:1 ratio for donations from New York City residents less than $175.
Avella had raised $73,393 on his own, but through the program received an additional $274,620, according to records from the city Campaign Finance Board, which estimated his cash on-hand at $319,060.
Avella still trailed far behind Vallone, who the board estimates has more than $1 million in his war chest, and Katz, who wields an estimated $800,000.
But political insiders noted $300,000 is still a sizeable hunk of cash, and could be used to send out an effective amount of campaign literature in the mail.
Katz and Vallone both seized on the opportunity to position themselves as the only credible candidate left.
“On the one hand, we can elect a progressive champion like Melinda Katz who has fought her whole career for better health care, higher-quality education and truly affordable housing in Queens. On the other, there’s Peter Vallone — a rubber stamp for wealthy real-estate developers with conservative views so extreme that he’s won awards from the ultra-right Conservative Party. We’re confident voters will see that,” Katz Campaign Manager Brian Fritsch said.
“Voters always had a clear choice between the candidates that were anti-tax and pro-responsible development, Tony and Peter, and Melinda’s record of supporting tax increases and rampant development,” said Vallone spokesman Andrew Moesel. “And now, with Tony out of the race, the choice is even clearer: Peter Vallone. On election day, we have faith that voters will be informed enough to make the right decision for them and their families.”
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
