By William Lewis
As the mayoral race moves along, soon the various political parties and their county organizations will be designating candidates. Now that U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D−Forest Hills) has suspended active campaigning for mayor, only two active Democratic candidates remain: city Comptroller Bill Thompson and City Councilman Tony Avella (D−Bayside).
Unless some other Democrat enters the contest at the last minute, there will be a primary between Avella and Thompson to determine who will represent the Democratic Party in the fall general election.
Although Thompson is ahead of Avella in terms of fund−raising, Avella has conducted a grassroots campaign in all five boroughs. In addition to Queens, he has recently spent a significant amount of time campaigning in Brooklyn and Manhattan. He has emphasized attending street fairs and campaign forums. Avella is confident he will do well when television debates are held during the Democratic primary.
Avella has spent many years in appointive and elective office. He began his career in politics as an aide to former Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. he continued his efforts in city government by working as a staff member for former Mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins. In these roles, he served as a Queens representative, attending Town Hall and community board meetings.
Later, he would become chief of staff for the late state Sen. Leonard Stavisky and continue as chief of staff for state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D−Whitestone) after she succeeded her husband.
During his quest for elective office, Avella ran twice for the Council, in 1991 and 1993, in the 19th District in northeast Queens. He lost both times. He was finally elected to that office in 2001, when he won by a narrow margin.
It should be pointed out that in 1991, there were nine Democratic candidates in a primary election in the 19th District. Avella came in second of the nine candidates who ran that year. Two years later, he lost to incumbent Republican Councilman Mike Abel. Avella is now completing his eighth year as councilman.
As a councilman, he strongly opposes overdevelopment of residential neighborhoods. He believes the character of neighborhoods should be maintained. In education, he believes there is too much emphasis being placed on preparation for standardized tests and not enough time on learning subject matter.
In terms of ethics, Avella indicated his belief that elected officials should be more interested in serving the public rather than themselves. To prove his point, he is presently introducing a bill in the Council that prevents the Council from approving a pay raise for its members. Under the provisions of his bill, the Council can only approve raises for future elected Councils.
This is the same system used in the U.S. House of Representatives, which can only vote for pay raises for representatives elected after their two−year term is completed.
Avella has taken his career as a public official seriously, as exemplified by the fact that in addition to Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D−Manhattan), he is the only member of the 51−member Council who has a 100 percent attendance record.
Avella considers himself a reformer. He has said, “I’m fed up with the way city government operates and the way it treats our citizens.”
At this time, an indication as to how the city Democratic Party will proceed to choose its candidate for mayor will depend to some extent on which candidate each of the five county Democratic organizations endorse. If any of them choose not to endorse a candidate, then it will be up to the party primary voters to decide the candidate.
