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Tough Times for Local GOP
City Republicans Face Extra Challenge in Races
By Edward-Isaac Dovere

Tough times have plagued Manhattan Republicans for years. But this year, things have been even worse.

As Eliot Spitzer, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Andrew Cuomo seem headed for large victories in their respective races for governor, Senate and attorney general of New York, the national mood seems to be tilting increasingly toward Democrats in their quest to control both houses of Congress.

For the Republicans running for State Senate and Assembly across Manhattan, this means an added problem to an already difficult situation.

“Nobody wants to be a Republican these days—I can see how the label is tarnished at this point,” said Dan Russo, a finance director for a division of Cablevision who is making his first run for public office as the Republican opponent to four-term State Sen. Tom Duane.

Their district runs from the Upper West Side down through Chelsea to the West Village, then East, only to arc north into Stuyvesant Town. None of these areas has traditionally been easy territory for Republicans to tread, but Russo says things have gotten exponentially more difficult as the Republicans in power in Washington have grown increasingly unpopular.

“It’s the Bush Republicans that are making it real tough for the local people because we can’t get a word in edgewise,” Russo said, describing the reactions he has sparked while collecting signatures for his ballot petitions or campaigning. As soon as he mentioned his party affiliation, some laughed at him, some recoiled. Some, he said “almost spit” on him.

Russo is an avowed moderate who says increasing affordable housing is his central concern and supports legalizing same-sex marriage. His support of lower taxes and limited government on the local level is what makes him a Republican, he said.

“I believe on the national level we should be more Democratic, but at the more local level, we need a more Republican type,” Russo said. He believes state and city legislators should play a restrained role in their communities, focusing on stimulating the economy and supporting business.

Russo is far from the only struggling Republican this year. Of the six State Senate districts covering parts of Manhattan, two are without Republican candidates. Of the 12 Assembly districts in Manhattan, Republicans are only running in eight. All these seats are currently in Democratic hands, with incumbents and new candidates who enjoy high name recognition and relatively large campaign treasuries.

The last time Manhattan had a Republican in office from a local district was 2002. Republican State Sen. Roy Goodman, who had represented much of the Upper East Side for three decades, retired at the beginning of that year, precipitating a special election in February won by Liz Krueger, a Democrat. John Ravitz, the Republican who lost to Krueger, did not seek reelection to the Assembly that fall, and his seat was won by Democrat Jonathan Bing in a close race.

Both Krueger and Bing have Republican challengers this year, though neither one is perceived to be as much of a threat as some previous GOP contenders in the area. Looking to avoid being dismissed simply because of their party labels, both have petitioned their way onto the ballot on additional party lines and tried to position themselves as independent thinkers. Philip “Flip” Pidot is challenging Krueger. He is also the candidate of the Growth Party, which he created, and says that he is a “Republican because of economics, but will not toe the line just because they say so on other issues.” Among the issues on which his position diverges from the main party line: same-sex marriage, which Pidot supports. This stance alone has earned him some criticism from a sprinkling of local GOP rank and file.

Bing’s challenger, Robert Heim, also stressed his centrist ideology and his endorsement by the Liberal and Independence parties in addition to the GOP.

“There has been change in the neighborhood over the years, and the sentiments have become more Democratic, but I am a moderate Republican,” Heim explained, emphasizing his centrist views.

Waning Republican prospects for Manhattan’s local offices in recent years has made an already tough process even harder. Finding Republican voters becomes harder, registration lists become outdated, and candidates are forced to devote already scarce money and resources before they even get out of the gate.

But even facing these local realities and this year’s greater anti-Republican trend, even the admittedly long shot candidates hold out hopes.

Michael Fandal, a retired police officer who is currently a part-time clown and substitute teacher, grew up in the Democratic Party and veered briefly into the Libertarian Party before settling into the Republican Party. He is currently the GOP challenger to longtime East Side Assembly Member Alexander “Pete” Grannis, individually campaigning in the district on a platform of opposing “Islamofacists,” teaching martial arts in public schools and creating a barge for unrestricted narcotics use in conjunction with much stricter enforcement of drug laws everywhere else, among other issues.

“If people know this,” he said, discussing both his ideas and his relatively unpopular party affiliation, “they may decide to take a risk, step out of the box.”