By 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Assemblywoman Grace Meng had claimed victory in her Congressional primary, starting the party in earnest at Plum Restaurant in Bayside. Through the night, she was continually surrounded by rambunctious supporters. Forum Newsgroup photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.
Assemblywoman Grace Meng handily defeated three opponents to claim the Democratic nomination for the 6th Congressional District.
Meng came away with more than 50 percent of the low-turnout vote—claiming just less than 13,000 ballots according to the unofficial count.
Assemblyman Rory Lancman trailed with around 30 percent, with Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and Dr. Robert Mittman taking the last 15 and 5 percent respectively.
“This is an important win for our shared priorities and our shared understanding that what’s different about all of us in Queens is nothing compared to what we all have in common,” Meng said, declaring her victory by 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night.
For the first time in the district, neighborhoods like Flushing tipped the balance to make Asians residents the largest voting block, and Meng credited her victory to the micro-level work that focused on energizing voters.
“It has been about we, certainly not me. We, we in this room, we in the neighborhoods won this important race. We made this victory together,” she said.
The mood at Plum Restaurant in Bayside was confident throughout the night, even before the short wait for her victory speech.
“I have two speeches prepared,” Meng said as she approached the microphone, drawing laughs from the crowd. “Do you want the one in my left hand or the one in my right hand?”
This was Meng’s first and possibly highest hurdle toward replacing Congressman Gary Ackerman and making history in the process.
She would be the first Asian American to represent New York in Congress and the first woman since Geraldine Ferraro in 1979.
Despite an upcoming general-election campaign against Republican Councilman Dan Halloran, supporters claimed breaking that record is a given.
“Let me just say on behalf of the Queens county Democratic party … that on this, June 26, 2012, we have made history,” said Congressman Joe Crowley, who heads the county organization.
Meng won the backing of the county party to kick off her campaign. They began searching for a candidate to anoint on the heels of Ackerman’s surprise announcement that he would retire after three decades in Congress.
Ackerman also endorsed Meng in the contest and was pleased with the candidate primed to take his seat.
“I’m going to sleep well,” Ackerman said. “ Turning over the torch in a district that’s the most ethnically diverse in the country to somebody who really knows how to bring people together is of prime importance.”
Meng, however, was ready to pivot from any mention of ethnicity; she turned firmly to the general election.
“To my Republican opponent Dan Halloran, I say this: Let’s run a campaign based on the issues and engage spirited debate on policies and priorities. Let’s not discuss race or religion,” she said. “Let’s not engage in fear tactics or implication.”
In that statement, she also shifted her sights to Halloran and tying him to his national party.
“This general election is crucial for democrats not only in Queens but across the nation to show their steadfastness and compassion,” Meng said. “It’s Tea Party part two: their hateful, misguided war on women and family’s access to health care, their slash-and-burn budgeting that would destroy vital social programs and entitlements so necessary to our families in Queens, their nonstop relentless agenda exclusively favoring the wealthiest Americans and corporations.”
Meng had a laundry list of supporters, volunteers and unions to thank, including the parade of elected officials who attended her victory party.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, Councilman Peter Vallone and City Comptroller John Liu were just a few Democratic notables.
As Meng smiled surrounded by family and politicians, she said it’s a daunting task to replace the prominent Ackerman in progressive values, foreign policy—and, lastly, fashion.
“Somebody actually asked me if I was going to continue wearing those carnations,” she said. “Your act is a tough act to follow, and your show has been a 30-year Broadway run.”
By Jeremiah Dobruck
j.dobruck@theforumnewsgroup.com
