By Paula Katinas
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
He has worked quietly and diligently behind the scenes in Bay Ridge politics for more than a decade. But now, a top aide to state Sen. Marty Golden (R-Bay Ridge-southern Brooklyn) is planning a move that will propel him into the spotlight.
John Quaglione, Golden’s deputy chief of staff and spokesman, confirmed that he is “strongly considering” running for the Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst City Council seat that Democrat Vincent Gentile has held for 10 years.
The election will take place in November. Gentile, who has been in the council since 2003, has not yet declared his intention to run for re-election, but political observers in Bay Ridge said it’s almost a sure thing that he will.
“At this time, I am strongly considering running against Vincent Gentile for the City Council this year. I am continuing conversations with friends, family and potential supporters and contributors, and I must say that so far the feedback has been very good,” Quaglione said.
“I will continue to do my homework on the race, including looking at the new district, and should have a decision by the end of the month,” Quaglione said.
City Council members are limited to two terms, but Gentile is able to run for another term despite the fact that he has been in the council for 10 years. He originally won his seat in the special election in February of 2003. Ironically, he ran for the council seat formerly held by Golden. Gentile had been a state senator. Golden defeated him for the state senate seat in 2002.
A lifelong resident of Bay Ridge, Quaglione is a graduate of Adelphi Academy in Bay Ridge and American University in Washington D.C. He has worked for Golden since the days in the late 1990s when Golden held the same City Council seat Gentile holds now. When Golden was elected to the state senate in 2002, Quaglione went with him.
Quaglione is married to Kerry Izzo Quaglione, an elementary school assistant principal. The couple has a daughter, Natalie Grace. Quaglione is a member of the Parish Pastoral Planning Council at Saint Anselm Catholic Church and is a second degree knight with the Knights of Columbus Archbishop John Hughes Council.
