Kim, Halloran lob charges of racism, robbery. Campaign turns sour in final stretch

[Ian David]

Kim, Halloran lob charges of racism, robbery
Campaign turns sour in final stretch

The race to replace City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) turned nasty in its final week before Election Day as accusations of racism and campaign sign tampering flew from the two candidate’s campaigns.

The campaign has taken its twists and turns ever since Bayside Democrat Kevin Kim, the former deputy director of community affairs for U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside), defeated his five opponents in the Sept. 15 Democratic primary and moved ahead to face Republican Dan Halloran, an Auburndale attorney.

Shortly after the primary, a Queens Tribune article detailed Halloran’s participation in a pre-Christian pagan religion. The Queens County Republican party criticized the article and Halloran’s campaign pointed out that the Tribune was founded by Ackerman and that its sister company was involved in Kim’s campaign. In mid-October, two volunteers for Kim filed complaints with the 109th Precinct that they had been harassed by a group of youths who threw a football at them and referred to Halloran. Kim’s campaign did not go as far to suggest that the youths played any role in Halloran’s campaign.

But the contest became even more heated in its final week after Kim and a group of high-profile Queens Democrats stood in front of Borough Hall in Kew Gardens Monday to denounce a Halloran campaign mailer they contended was racially divisive. On Tuesday, Halloran’s campaign staff held a news conference at which they accused the Kim campaign of tearing down Halloran’s campaign signs in northeast Queens.

More:
http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/10/29/queens/doc4ae8b91d84641347972318.txt




Council battle heats up: Halloran, Kim trade barbs, get ex-gov nods
BY Lisa L. Colangelo
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, October 30th 2009, 11:34 AM

<snip>

Kim and his Democratic supporters have blasted Halloran and his campaign for flooding the district with literature they say is anti-Asian and designed to scare white voters.

Those flyers focus on Kim's contributors with Asian names and show scenes of crowded downtown Flushing - warning their Whitestone, Auburndale and Bayside neighborhoods could become prey for developers.

Kim, a Korean-American who grew up in Bay Terrace and works for Rep. Gary Ackerman, dismissed Halloran's charges as lies and promised to protect neighborhoods.

Kim racked up additional endorsements on Thursday from Planned Parenthood, NARAL and several female legislators, including Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

More:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/10/30/2009-10-30_council_battle_heats_up_halloran_kim_trade_barbs_get_exgov_nods.html




See prior thread:

Republicans endorse Conservative practicing Pagan
http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/10/29/queens/doc4ae8b91d84641347972318.txt