Longtime Bay Ridge politico lending a hand to Borough President candidate

April 9, 2013 Helen Klein
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Former Democratic District Leader Ralph Perfetto is aiding former Republican John Gangemi in his quest for the Democratic borough presidential nomination.

Gangemi, who served Brooklyn as its councilmember at large in the 1970s when he was a member of the GOP, announced his candidacy earlier this year, running against State Senator Eric Adams for the Democratic nomination.

“I’m coordinating for him,” said Perfetto, who has been politically quiet since 2010, when he lost his district leadership position to challenger Kevin Peter Carroll, after serving 18 years in the post.

“I’m not being his manager or guru,” Perfetto went on, noting, “I’m helping him because he’s been out of the loop for a long time. I gave him a list of leaders, and made some phone calls for him.

“He feels Eric Adams shouldn’t have a runaway election. He feels that it’s part of the Democratic process,” added Perfetto, who said that Gangemi had asked him for assistance because they do business together.

While Gangemi has been out of politics for three decades, his family hasn’t. Son John Gangemi, Jr., challenged then-State Senator Robert DiCarlo, a Republican, in a primary back in 1996, beating him to become the GOP candidate. The younger Gangemi then lost in a three-way race to Vincent Gentile, who held the seat through 2001 and is now a councilmember. Gangemi ran again for the State Senate seat in 1998, losing in a Republican primary to former State Senator Chris Mega.

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