4 NOVEMBER 10 - NOVEMBER 16, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Close call: Brannan claims victory
over Quaglione in 43rd District race
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
& HELEN KLEIN
With close to 100 percent
of precincts reporting,
and roughly 900 votes
separating the leading contenders,
Democratic candidate Justin Brannan
claimed victory at around 10:30
p.m. Tuesday night in the race the
for the 43rd District City Council
seat, expected to be one of the tightest
races in the city.
Brannan celebrated his victory
with friends and family at Cebu, 8801
Third Avenue. Republican-Conservative
candidate John Quaglione, on the
other hand, told supporters at the Bay
Ridge Manor, 476 76th Street, that his
effort to be the neighborhood's next
councilmember appeared to have
fallen short just moments before
Brannan’s camp called the win.
As of midnight, 98.95 percent of
precincts had reported, according to
the Board of Elections’ unofficial election
night results, with 50.1 percent
of the vote for Brannan and 46.89
percent for Quaglione. At that time,
there were 12,516 votes for Brannan
and 11,621 for Quaglione.
By that time, the Reform Party
candidate Bob Capano had secured
just 324 votes – just 51 more than the
(unpublicized) Women’s Equality
candidate Angel Medina, who received
273.
“Campaigns like this are won door
to door, conversation to conversation,
street to street,” said Brannan. “Tonight
was a victory for love, for hope,
for tolerance, for acceptance. Tonight
was a victory for one of the strongest
communities I’ve ever known – and
one that we’re going to make even
stronger together.”
The crowd was both voluminous
and vocal as expressions of joy and
relief washed over – and remained.
Former Democratic contender Reverend
Khader El-Yateem – who lost
the primary election to Brannan by
just seven and a half percent of the
vote in September – was among the
first to congratulate the Bay Ridge native.
“This is what democracy looks
like,” he said, highlighting Brannan’s
dedication to inclusiveness and to
“giving everyone a seat at the table.”
Next came Councilmember
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Meaghan McGoldrick
Justin Brannan addressing supporters.
Vincent Gentile, who has served the
43rd District for more than 13 years
and, despite being term-limited, is
elated to pass the torch to Brannan,
a longtime staffer of his, come the
New Year.
“I am so pleased for my good friend,
someone that is so ready for this job,
Justin Brannan. He really, really deserves
this,” Gentile said. “Justin has
the leadership that we need, he has
the background that we need, and he
hits the ground running, not only in
our district but in City Hall."
The mood at the Bay Ridge Manor
was vastly different.
The subdued crowd watched results
on a large screen that dashed
many of their hopes — not only Quaglione’s
apparent loss but also the
resounding loss of Republican-Conservative
mayoral candidate Assemblymember
Nicole Malliotakis, who
represents a portion of the Council
District and who trailed incumbent
Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio by
some 38 percentage points according
to unofficial election night results.
But, it was Quaglione’s showing
that cut to the quick for many of those
in the room. “I didn’t think it would
turn out this way,” said one supporter,
holding back tears.
Quaglione himself was grim when
he addressed the crowd, which gave
him a standing ovation despite the
numbers, as he delivered the bad
news — not quite a concession but an
assessment of where he stood.
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Helen Klein
“We tried,” the candidate said.
“We gave it everything we got, but
it doesn’t look like we are going to
make it.”
State Senator Marty Golden, Quaglione’s
longtime boss and mentor,
spoke similarly. “We fought the good
fight. We got close but we didn’t close
the deal,” he told the group. With
Brannan leading by between 800
and 900 votes, according to unofficial
results, “We don’t think we can overcome
those numbers,” Golden said.
Nonetheless, as the group began
slowly to disperse, Golden called out,
“It’s not over till the fat lady sings.”
Less than a mile away, Gentile
remained confident.
“It will be my honor and privilege
to hand Brannan this membership
pin on January 1,” he said.
“I’m going to fight like hell for
everybody who calls this district
home,” Brannan said. “I don’t care
if you’ve been here since birth or if
you’ve been here since breakfast,
my door is always going to be open
to you.”
This is not the first time there’s
been a close contest in the district.
There was a far closer one in the
2003 special election to fill the seat —
vacated when Golden won Gentile’s
State Senate seat. Then, a five-way
race came down to two contenders,
Gentile, a Democrat and the late
Rosemarie O’Keefe, a Republican. As
of election night, O’Keefe was ahead
by 47 votes. After two and a half
weeks during which paper ballots
were scrutinized and counted, Gentile
ultimately won the election by a
margin of 31 votes.
The 43rd District encompasses the
neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker
Heights, Bensonhurst and Bath Beach.
John Quaglione and wife Kerry.