Halloran responds

From the Queens Chronicle:

I believe in God
by Dan Halloran

I was raised a Roman Catholic right here in Auburndale. I was baptized into the Catholic Church and took my confirmation at 13.I attended Jesuit schools.Then and now, faith is a cornerstone of my life.

My family is deeply rooted in this community.My great-grandfather was a chief of police, my grandfather was an NYPD homicide detective.My father was the deputy commissioner of various NYC agencies.My uncles were members of the NYPD and two of my brothers are FDNY firefighters today.

When I was 12 years old, my father was stricken with cancer.My dad was then a deputy commissioner at the New York City Housing Preservation and Development Department, and he worked long hours to provide for us.Growing up, my brothers and I did everything with him, from camping to baseball, schoolwork to Scouts; Dad was an integral part of our lives.

My father fought prostate cancer for six years.By my senior year of high school, it began to spread through his body. Ultimately my father died on the day I graduated from high school. He was 52 years old. Our family was devastated.

I was accepted to Fordham University, but dropped out soon after to work fulltime to help provide for my mother and three younger brothers. I took classes at night while working full time and eventually graduated college with honors, and became a lawyer.

The death of my father and its aftermath was very difficult for our family. I took comfort in my family’s history and our heritage, yet through all of this pain and hardship, I never lost faith in God.

Last week, I was attacked for my faith in the Queens Tribune.These attacks happened on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the holiest time of the year for the Jewish people. Having been raised in a Catholic household that shares its religious roots with the Jewish faith, I was deeply offended that religion would be used for political gain.

The Tribune has endorsed my opponent. The publishers of that paper also own Multi-Media Advertising, which has been paid over $80,000 by my opponent’s campaign.

I am a man of faith – and now my faith is under attack by a newspaper working for my opponent.

I call on my opponent to disavow the Queens Tribune’s attack on religion. I am running a campaign on the issues.

The people of northeast Queens need to hear about real solutions to these problems from the candidates running for City Council, not paid political attacks masked as news.

Dan Halloran is the Republican candidate for City Council in the 19th District. The district includes Bayside, College Point, Auburndale, Beechhurst, Whitestone, Bay Terrace, Robinwood and parts of Flushing, Douglaston and Little Neck.