Kevin Peter Carroll has a few choice words for elected officials who endorse his opponent, Ralph Perfetto, for state committeeman: carry your own petitions!
In the latest salvo in the battle for male District Leader in Bay Ridge, the 23-year-old Carroll says he won’t help candidates get re-elected if they don’t support his push to oust 18-year incumbent Ralph Perfetto from the coveted, unpaid seat.
This week, Carroll said he will only carry nominating petitions — a key job of the district leader during other party candidates’ campaigns — for those “who remained neutral in the race or who endorsed me.”
But with the number of endorsements the incumbent is racking up, it looks like Carroll won’t be to busy this petitioning season — which begins in three weeks.
Already, Perfetto has received the backing of Assemblymembers Janele Hyer-Spencer (D-Bay Ridge), Peter Abbate (D-Bensonhurst) and Felix Ortiz (D-Sunset Park) — three of the five who represent portions of the neighborhood. Councilmembers Sara Gonzalez (D-Sunset Park) and Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge), plus Rep. Michael McMahon (D-Bay Ridge), Borough President Markowitz, his predecessor, Howard Golden, and former Public Advocate Mark Green (Perfetto’s old boss), also back Perfetto.
That leaves just Assemblymen Alec Brook-Krasny (D-Coney Island) and Dov Hikind (D-Boro Park) — who also represent portions of the area — as the lone stakeholders in the area who have yet to choose a side.
Meanwhile, Carroll, the president of Brooklyn Democrats for Change, is having a difficult time finding mainstream support from current elected officials. So far, only former Councilman Tony Avella (D-Queens), frequent public advocate candidate Norman Siegel and former Park Slope Assemblyman Joe Ferris are in Carroll’s corner.
As such, Perfetto is not worried.
“I’m taking nothing for granted, and I am going to do everything I have to do to win it,” the amply endorsed incumbent and former boxer said. “When I boxed in the ring, I was nervous every time until the bell rang and the first punch was thrown. Then I went out to win. I never went out to lose.”
The district leader election is scheduled for Primary Day, September 14. The candidates debated in our Downtown office this week. A video of that scintillating battle will be posted online at www.BoroPolitics.com on Friday, May 14.
