Chirico Enters 43rd District City Council Race
Bay Ridge Attorney and longtime Community Board 11 member Vincent Chirico confirmed to KCP today that he will enter the Democratic Primary race to succeed term-limited 43rd District City Council Member Vincent Gentile.
Chirico joins an already crowded field including Justin Brannan, Kevin-Peter Carroll, Rev. Khader El-Yateem and Nancy Tong. The district includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and parts of Bensonhurst and Bath Beach.
“In the current crop of candidates there’s a need for a more seasoned candidate that fits into the mold of the district. It’s a pretty centrist district and it needs someone who can build a coalition with several city council members and the city council leadership,” said Chirico. “I am better positioned to build the coalition to get back those resources equivalent to the amount of taxes we contribute to the city budget and have been lacking the past few year.
As an attorney and local resident, Chirico has worked with the many small businesses in the district that are getting slammed with city violations as well as with several non-profits including the Dyker Heights Athletic Association and the American Italian Coalition of Organizations.
Chirico is also likely to get some political support. Sources say it is very likely that Assemblymember Peter Abbatte (D-Bensonhurst, Sunset Park) will decide not to run for the seat and will support Chirico.
Brannan Slams GOP Candidates For Views On Charter Schools
The fire from yesterday’s Republican debate between 43rd District City Council candidate Bob Capano, John Quaglione and Liam McCabe was still smoldering when Democratic candidate Justin Brannan lashed into the GOPers for their support of Charter Schools.
“Donald Trump and his Education Secretary Betsy DeVos should be very happy with my Republican opponents for City Council. At the GOP debate, not only did they advocate for vouchers and tax credits, they called for more charter schools–even in District 20. I grew up here and attended McKinley and PS 185. There is no way I will allow charter schools to take resources from them or any other school in our district,” said Brannan.
Instead of advocating for charter schools in a district that has some of the best public schools in the city, everybody should be fighting for more classroom space because, as good as our schools are, they are very overcrowded. Now more than ever, in the age of Trump, defending our public schools is vital. As the education candidate in this race, I will stand up against any privatization attempts. Moreover, I will continue to push NYC Department of Education to focus on teaching, not just testing, more arts in schools and a more comprehensive approach to students with special needs.”
It will be interesting to see if Brannan takes the same view for tax credits or vouchers from the many struggling Muslim and Catholic residents that want to send their kids to parochial schools.