Brooklyn Election Roundup: Landslide wins for Gentile, Greenfield, Treyger

Bay Ridge lawmaker is now council’s senior member

November 6, 2013 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Democrat Vincent Gentile won re-election to his Bay Ridge City Council seat in a landslide on Tuesday, easily defeating John Quaglione, his Republican-Conservative opponent, by a nearly two-to-one margin, a victory that propels him to the top ranks of the council.

With 100 percent of the results in, the numbers showed that Gentile earned 62.74 percent of the vote in the 43rd Council District, a district that covers the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, and includes parts of Bensonhurst and Bath Beach. Quaglione, deputy chief of staff to state Sen. Marty Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-southern Brooklyn), had 35.56 percent of the vote.

A third candidate, Patrick O’Dwyer, who ran on the Green Party line, had 1.7 percent.

Gentile posted a message on his Facebook page shortly after he declared victory Tuesday night. “I am incredibly excited to have been re-elected as your councilman for another 4 years! Thank you all so very much,” he wrote.

“I look forward to continuing to serve the hardworking people of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Bensonhurst. I will return to City Hall as the most senior member of the New York City Council. And now…back to work tomorrow!” Gentile wrote.

With this resounding victory, Gentile, who was first elected to the council in 2003, becomes the council’s most senior member.

During the campaign, Gentile repeatedly reminded voters that he would be the most senior member of the council if he won re-election and that the seniority would afford him the opportunity to use his clout to get more for his district from the city’s budget. “When the big decisions are made, I will be sitting at the table,” he said in one debate.

There was also speculation that Gentile’s big win would mean that the councilman would become chairman of a high-profile committee, such as finance or police and public safety.

During an often bitter campaign, Quaglione, a first time candidate, sought to portray Gentile as a do-nothing councilman with no clout. He repeatedly stated in debates that the 43rd District was 50th out of the 51 council districts in terms of city funding for discretionary budget funds to improve parks, libraries, schools, and other items.

In the end, however, voters in the district decided overwhelmingly to give Gentile another term.

This will be Gentile’s third and final term in the council. He will not be able to run again in 2017.

Gentile wasn’t the only landslide winner in the Nov. 5 election.

Councilman David Greenfield (D-Borough Park-Midwood-Bensonhurst) beat his opponent, Republican Joseph Hayon, by more than 60 percentage points, 82.02 percent to 17.98 percent.

In other races, Mark Treyger, a high school civics teacher and Democratic Party activist making his first run for public office, easily defeated two other candidates in the race in the 47th Council District (Coney Island-Gravesend-Bensonhurst).

Treyger garnered an impressive 71.25 percent of the vote. Republican Andrew Sullivan trailed far behind with 28.82 percent. A third candidate, Pastor Connie Mobley, has just 1.93 percent.

The district, which sustained a great deal of damage from Superstorm Sandy last year, is currently represented by Democrat Domenic Recchia. Recchia, who was not able to run for re-election due to term limits, is setting his sights on running for congress.

Carlos Menchaca, who shocked the political establishment when he beat incumbent Sara Gonzalez in the Democratic Primary for the 38th Council District in September, cruised to an impressive victory in th Sunset Park-Red Hook district, Bay Ridge Odyssye reported that http://www.bayridgeodyssey.com/2013/11/election-2013-vincent-gentile-wins-third-full-term-to-council/ Menchaca won 90 percent of the vote against Conservative candidate Henry Lallave.

In the 48th Council District (Sheepshead Bay-Brighton Beach), Democrat Chaim Deutsch beat Republican-Conservative David Storobin and two other candidates. Deutsch earned 55.08 percent. Storobin, a former state senator seeking a political comeback, had 39.1 percent. Igor Oberman had 5 percent, while Alexander Lotovsky had less than 1 percent.

Democrat Alan Maisel received more than 80 percent of the vote against Republican Anthony Testaverde in the 46th Council District (Marine Park-Gerritsen Beach).

Incumbents Stephen Levin (33rd Council District), Mathieu Eugene (40th C.D.), and Jumaane Williams (45th C.D.) all won re-election.