
A battle for Bay Ridge may be shaping up in a City Council race this fall.
John Quaglione, deputy chief of staff and press secretary for GOP State Sen. Marty Golden, told Politicker he’s “strongly considering” challenging Councilman Vinnie Gentile, a Brooklyn Democrat who has represented the area in some capacity since 1996.
This won’t be the first time Mr. Golden and Mr. Gentile have been on opposing teams, however, as then-Councilman Golden won his seat in the State Senate by defeating Mr. Gentile after last decade’s redistricting cycle. Mr. Gentile subsequently won a special election to replace Mr. Golden.
“I am talking to some party leaders and talking to folks about raising money,” Mr. Quaglione said yesterday. “I’ll be making a decision in the next two to three weeks.”
Mr. Quaglione has been ramping up his efforts in other ways in recent days as well, with local Democrats noticing him attending more events and becoming active on social media. Earlier this week, he challenged Mr. Gentile and another Democratic pol on the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk tactic, tweeting, “Would be interested in hearing how our local politicians feel about stop and frisk and today’s ruling @VincentGentile @AlecBrookKrasny.”
But he faces an uphill battle if he indeed jumps into the race, as Brooklyn’s southwestern corner is not the Republican bastion it once was. Mr. Gentile’s opponent in 2009, for example, lost by 20 points.
At least one other Republican, conservative activist Andy Sullivan, is already in the race.