District 25 political cartoon

Council District 25 debate video

From BoroPolitics.com:

Throughout the hour-long Democratic Primary debate for City Council District 25, held at the Flushing Library last Thursday, incumbent Helen Sears faced a barrage of attacks from challengers Danny Dromm and Stanley Kalathara, who called her an ineffective legislator during her last eight years in office.

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Dromm supporters waste their time protesting

From the Times Ledger:

Even after City Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights) released a statement Friday denouncing anonymous attacks against her Democratic rival, Danny Dromm, Jackson Heights residents protested in front of her office Sunday claiming she refused to speak out against the smear campaign.

“Council member Sears strongly condemns this negative and anonymous type of campaigning,” campaign spokesman Erik Joerss said in a statement sent Friday to Gay City News, two days before the protest in front of Sears’ Jackson Heights office. “She is committed to focusing on the important issues facing the families of Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst and Rego Park.”

Joerss said the Sears campaign sent the statement Saturday, the day before the protest, to the Empire State Pride Agenda.

Dromm campaign spokesman Bryan Collinsworth said neither the organizers of the protest nor the campaign had seen Sears’ public denunciation of the attacks before the demonstration.

Dromm backers claimed Sears was the only candidate in the race for her Council seat who had not denounced the mailing as of Sunday even though she had repudiated the attacks Friday. The other contender, Stanley Kalathara, spoke out against it.

Great moments in tweeding, part 1

From the Times Ledger:

[Helen] Sears, who is seeking a third term in office; Democratic District Leader Daniel Dromm; Con Edison spokesman Alfonso Quiroz; and Jackson Heights lawyer Stanley Kalathara all said they would focus on increasing English classes and employment opportunities for immigrant communities if they win in September.

There were few moments of tension during the evening. At one point, Dromm called on the other candidates to commit to not accepting any campaign contributions from real estate developers. None of the other candidates responded.