Photo: State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox (standing) last Thursday praised the Queens GOP for uniting under its new chairman, former U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (seated at front table). Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza.
In a spirited reception more befitting that of the return of a conquering hero, former U.S. Rep. Bob Turner last Thursday fired up the Queens County Republican Party as he addressed the club for the first time as its new chairman.
“I think we can turn Queens around big time,” Turner said, eliciting one of many rounds of applause from the dozens of district leaders and members on hand at American Legion Continental Post 1424 in Forest Hills.
Turner, a retired television executive and Rockaway resident who won the 2011 special election for the 9th Congressional District seat following Anthony Weiner’s resignation amid his initial sexting scandal, was thrust into consideration for the position after state GOP Chairman Ed Cox received a letter last month signed by two-thirds of the Queens district leaders asking him to help unify the county party under Turner.
“[We] wish to work together as a single, unified organization,” said District Leader Bart Haggerty, reading aloud from the missive at the beginning of Thursday’s meeting.
“As I looked at the signatures on the letter, I saw district leaders coming together, saying ‘We want Bob Turner to be our leader,’” Cox related to The Forum following the meeting. “[The response] was tremendous. We need a unified Queens party.”
The borough GOP has been in turmoil and disarray since the early 1990s, Turner pointed out on Thursday, divided into two warring factions that have been unable to see eye-to-eye over myriad issues, including leadership. Most recently, the club suffered major setbacks when longtime Chairman Phil Ragusa died last year and Vice Chairman Vince Tabone was indicted on federal bribery charges. Tabone was convicted in February and will be sentenced in July.
Robert Beltrani, a state Division of Parole judge, was elevated to chairman, but the schism had left the party in tatters. On Thursday, Turner said that Beltrani, who could not attend the confab because he is away on vacation, has agreed to help with the transition in leadership.
“He’s been a champ, God bless him,” Turner praised Beltrani. “I’m going to rely on him.”
An invigorated Cox said rallying around Turner is the right move.
“This is a man who knows how to raise funds, energize volunteers and win elections,” he said.
After citing how Mayor Bill de Blasio carried Queens in the 2013 election—the first time in six mayoral races that the Republican candidate did not win the borough—Cox ripped hizzoner for “undoing the reforms of Giuliani and Bloomberg” within his first year in office.
“My friends, this city is going the wrong way fast,” Cox said. “And come 2017, those chickens are going to come home to roost!”
Indeed the Queens party, which counts City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) as its sole legislator on the city, state and federal levels, is looking at the next election cycle as crucial to its ability to forge forward.
“In a borough this size, to have one representative on the City Council, in the Assembly and Senate is bad,” Turner said. “Tonight we end that.”
After acknowledging that things might “have to get worse before they get better,” Turner said he’s going to need a lot of assistance as he tries to change the perception of a beleaguered party that is virtually broke.
“So much needs to be done,” Turner said. “Your participation, input, and willingness to work are very important.”
His message seemed to resonate on a brisk Thursday night in March in Forest Hills.
“I think this is a direction that we need to go in, because we’re floundering,” said Rosemarie Iacovone, a Middle Village resident and Beltrani supporter. “I’m willing to work—it’s something we haven’t been doing enough of. I’m happy and I wish [Turner] the best of luck.”
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
