The two factions wrestling over control of Brooklyn’s Republican Party have comes together to support GOP Candidate Jeffrey J. Ferretti in his bid for the open 59th Assembly District Seat in the upcoming April 19 special election.
The seat, which covers a diverse constituency including Mill Basin, Georgetown, Canarsie, Bergen Beach and Gerritsen Beach, opened up recently when former Assemblywoman Rozanne Persaud won the open 19th District Senate Seat left vacant with the felony corruption conviction of former State Senator John Sampson.
Kings County Democratic Party Boss Frank Seddio once held the seat, and the election is in his backyard. Both he and the powerful Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club have backed Persaud’s former Chief of Staff Jamie Williams.
This is Ferretti’s third try for elected office, having lost to Persaud first for the 59th Assembly District Seat, when it was vacated after former Assembly Member Alan Maisel stepped down to run and ultimately win the City Council seat, replacing the term-limited Lew Fidler. Most recently, he ran against Persaud again for the senate seat and lost in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.
“The third time is a charm. The last times, I didn’t have much support because the Party was split, but this time both sides of the Party are supporting me. I also have the Support of the Conservative Party and Reform Party lines,” said Ferretti,
The infamous split followed a long dispute between factions supporting former Brooklyn GOP Chair Craig Eaton and Bay Ridge State Senator Marty Golden. Golden thought he had the votes lined up to replace Eaton at last September’s organizational meeting with respected Bay Ridge Attorney Teddy Ghorra, but when Eaton unexpectedly stepped down and replaced himself with former Assembly Member Arnaldo Ferraro all kinds of arguing and yelling took place.
At issue is the number of county committee proxies that the Golden camp brought to the meeting and which the GOP credential committee threw out as invalid. The matter is currently in court and a judge is expected to render a decision on who will be the GOP County Chair in the near future.
But Ghorra said in the meantime he reached out to Ferraro for the good of the Party and the two factions came together to ensure Ferretti had enough affidavits to get on the ballot for the special election.
“It’s really about little ‘d’ democracy and getting a process in place,” said Ghorra, who wouldn’t comment directly about the ongoing litigation. “This is absolutely about what’s going on with the Republican Party. It’s not about me winning or losing, but you don’t want to disenfranchise people who cast their votes. The litigation will play itself out. My contribution is to the party and the message, and what it’s about is much bigger than any one person or two or three people. That’s why we wanted to make sure we got behind Jeff. I don’t want to get any candidates entangled in any kind of nonsense that went on in the past. I want to get away from that moving forward.”
Ghorra’s comments come about a week after Ferraro endorsed Ferretti.
“We are pleased to endorse Jeff Ferretti who has proven to be a loyal Republican and a hard-working campaigner. He is the right candidate for this office and when elected he will represent the community in which he and his family have resided and maintained a small business for over twenty years. We look forward to a victorious celebration onApril 19. 2016,” said Ferraro.
The truce also means that both factions expects to put boots on the ground to canvas the neighborhood, knock on doors and talk up Ferretti. This includes GOP rising star and Brooklyn Young Republican Club President Brandon Washington, and veteran 41st Republican District Leader Anthony Testaverde.
And the trash talk has already started.
“The Democrats have done nothing in Marine Park, Canarsie and Gerrestsen Beach. Zero,” said Testaverde. “They only did a little around the Seaview area in Canarsie, and the only one that did anything was Lew Fidler. For years work in Canarsie has been neglected. Lew Fidler went to bat and started putting money in the community, but when Alan Maisel was assemblyman he did zero. Absolutely nothing, and as councilman he’s still doing nothing.”
Meanwhile Ferretti is taking the high road. “My family has been here since 1952, and we have businesses here for four generations. I made a good living here and still make a good living here,” said Ferretti, who has an insurance office on Avenue N. “I’m not saying I’m entitled, but I want to give back to the community and nobody knows it better than me. My issues are to help small businesses, address crime issues and help the seniors – many of whom have been here even longer than me.”
