Kate Cucco, the former chief of staff for recently resigned Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, is moving to the front of the line for the Kings County Democratic Party in the upcoming 46th Assembly District special election, according to some sources.
But other sources say that Coney Island Grassroots Activist Pam Harris is still the person to beat, while still other sources say high-powered Bay Ridge Attorney Cody McCone, who feted a good many of the district’s Democratic County Committee members at Garguilio’s Restaurant in Coney Island last night is now the person to beat.
One thing appears certain, though. Come Tuesday night, when the Kings County Democratic Party Executive committee meets at a Dyker Heights Restaurant, nobody will be picking up the check until they pick a candidate to face Republican Lucretia Regina-Potter in the Nov. 3 special election.
Sources say under the Cucco scenario, City Councilman Vincent Gentile will nominate Cucco with the strong backing of former City Councilman Domenic Recchia and Brook-Krasny.
Cucco currently works for the state legislature as a caretaker for the district following the resignation of Brook-Krasny earlier this summer and shares an office with Gentile.
Sources say the plan calls for Gentile to nominate Cucco after an initial round of nominees including Harris, McCone and former City Councilman Michael Nelson fails to get enough of the district’s county committee member votes to secure the nomination.
Delia Schack, the 46th Assembly Democratic District Leader, and the executive committee of the Coney Island-based Shorefront Democratic Club gave Harris, McCone and Nelson as the three names for the County’s Executive committee to choose from.
But Cucco and her boyfriend, Democratic Party operative Jonathan Yedin, have been working behind the scenes in garnering support of proxy votes from district committee members that won’t attend the meeting, sources say.
Cucco also interviewed to get the Conservative Party nod, but was passed over for Regina-Potter.
The only problem with this scenario is that Recchia was at Garguilio’s last night pledging to support McCone.
Harris, on the other hand, still has strong Coney Island support and is expected to garner the Working Families Party line tomorrow afternoon as well. She also has the support of Coney Island City Councilman Mark Treyger and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries is rumored to be backing her. If Harris get the WFP line, it will also put more pressure on the Democratic Party to back her as well.
Kings County Party Democratic Party Chair Frank Seddio has said repeatedly that he will back whoever the local county committee members pick. However, Cucco was recently the only candidate to show up at Canarsie’s Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club when both Seddio and the Club backed Assemblywoman Roxanne Persaud for the vacant 19th Senate district seat.
“She (Cucco) is working hard and is a viable candidate,” said Kings County Democratic Party Attorney Frank Carone.
The district includes Coney Island, Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights with small strips of Brighton Beach and Bath Beach.
