Friday, October 11, 2013

Queens Borough President candidates fight for the 99% vote



James Monroe/Ginnie Teo for New York Daily News



Democrat Melinda Katz, the front-runner in the race for Queens Borough President, angered Republican candidate Tony Arcabascio when she said Republicans only care about the wealthy 1% of the population in a fundraising letter.




Call it Occupy Queens Borough Hall.


The race for the borough’s top elected office has become a battle over who is more in touch with the 99%.


Front-running Democrat Melinda Katz and Republican challenger Tony Arcabascio are seizing the imagery and ideology of the Occupy Wall Street movement in hopes of winning a seat that has little to do with fixing America’s ongoing imbalance between rich and poor.


The odd debate started earlier this month when Katz sent out a campaign fundraising letter saying “as long as there’s a Republican running to be the next Queens Borough President, fighting to make life easier for the 1% while working families struggle, our work is not yet finished.”


That set the mild-mannered Arcabascio, whose parents were immigrants from Italy, into a fury first unleashed during a Facebook rant.


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“How dare you sit in your lily white castle in Forest Hills, that you are always sure to mention, while many residents of Queens struggle not just to live and eat but to survive the corruption of people that have defied their will such as you,” he said.


Katz raised over $ 800,000 and received $ 714,894 in public matching funds, according to the New York City Campaign Finance Board. She has already spent $ 1.4 million on the race, most of it during the crowded and bruising primary battle against City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., state Sen. Tony Avella and others.


Arcabascio has raised just over $ 3,000 and has not received matching funds to date.


The married father of four from Astoria, has a background in technology and is project manager at North Shore Long Island Jewish Medical Center.


Katz, a former member of the City Council and state Assembly, also worked as a lobbyist and lawyer. She lives with her partner, Guardian Angels founder and radio personality Curtis Sliwa and their two young sons in her childhood home in Forest Hills.


RELATED: KATZ HAS HER EYE ON QUEENS BOROUGH HALL


The 1% issue came up again on Friday during the taping of a debate at Queens Public Television when Arcabascio brought up the fundraising letter.


“Unless you are talking about the 1%, which happens to be the successful sons of immigrants that work very hard and get an education and stand here today opposing the Queens Democratic machine candidate, yeah, I’m part of that 1%,” Arcabascio said during the debate scheduled to air Oct. 17.


“I’m the people’s candidate,” he said.


Katz focused on her government experience, deep family roots and Democratic ideals in her response.


“One of the mistakes new candidates make is talking about one issue in order to avoid other issues,” she said.


lcolangelo@nydailynews.com





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