Donovan supporters celebrate the congressman’s win on election night

Brooklyn GOP Gathers at Bay Ridge Manor

November 9, 2016 By John Alexander Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Republican Party president Ted Ghorra and vice-president Brian Doherty. Photo by John Alexander

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On Tuesday night, Bay Ridge Manor was packed with friends and supporters of U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan, a Republican, who defeated Democratic challenger Richard A. Reichard for the 11th Congressional District.

Also in attendance were state Sen. Marty Golden, celebrating his unopposed run for his eighth term, state Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis, Kings County Republican Party President Ted Ghorra, Kings County Conservative Party Chairman Jerry Kassar and Kings County Republican Party Vice President Brian Doherty.

The enthusiastic crowd gathered to congratulate their elected officials on Election night, and show their support for then-presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Doherty was first to speak, saying that he had high hopes for the Republican Party moving forward and called Friday’s appointment of Ghorra as party president a new beginning for Brooklyn’s Republican Party. Doherty introduced Ghorra, who said he was hoping for good results “from the top of the ticket all the way down.”

Ghorra added, “We have a lot of work to do, so I’m looking forward to working with the people who’ve been here a long time and the new people who’ve come to the fore. We’re going to work together and do a lot of great things.”

Donovan took the podium and thanked Ghorra. He addressed his supporters saying, “This whole race has been about you. It’s about you making phone calls, it’s been about you knocking on doors, it’s been about you handing out my literature, it’s been about you texting, emailing and tweeting for me.” He thanked his supporters for getting him elected on May 5 (in a special election), and said that two weeks after that election, he and Serena Stonic welcomed their daughter Aniella Rose.

Donovan added that “when I’m in Washington, and think about how I should vote, what legislation I should propose, what members of Congress I should lobby to help me, I think about my daughter and I think about your families. And when people ask me how difficult it is to vote in Congress — it’s very simple, I think. Is it good for your family and for mine? If the answer is yes, I vote yes, if the answer is no, I vote no, regardless of who it offends and who’s unhappy with that because I represent 740,000 of you, not them.”

After Donovan’s remarks, Malliotakis addressed the audience. She congratulated Ghorra on being elected chairman of the Kings County Republican Party and said that she looked forward to working with him to grow the party in Brooklyn. She also thanked Kassar for his initial support in helping her get elected and her supporters for re-electing her, as she vowed to continue to fight for their interests and looked forward to “going back to Albany with Marty Golden for one more round.”

With the aftermath of the election, Brooklyn Republicans appear to be more united than ever, along with their Conservative kindred spirits.