New York’s Staten Island. On Monday, a registered Democrat declared his intention to win a nonpartisan special election in the five boroughs’ most Republican City Council District.
Eltingville resident Clifford Hagen, 58, declared his intention to run for the 51st Council District seat, which was just left empty by Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore).
The announcement was made outside Police Officer Rocco Laurie Intermediate School (I.S. 72), where Hagen, a native of Staten Island, has taught special education since 1994.
According to him, my family has spent more than three centuries living, loving, and learning on Staten Island. I was born and bred on Staten Island, and I value the borough’s independent, conservative, and fair-minded culture.
Our parks, our communities, and our safety are of little or no importance to other regions of New York City. I will advocate for our children, our safety, and our small area of New York City as a city councilman.
On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams announced that the Council District special election would take place on April 29. Hagen, Frank Morano, and Jeffrey Horowitz are the three contenders that have declared their intention to run thus far.
Although Hagen lives somewhat deep within the 51st Council District, his statement was made close to the district’s border. Additionally, he was just named to the South Shore’s Community Board 3 by Republican Borough President Vito Fossella.
When questioned about his own political views, Hagen acknowledged that he is a registered Democrat but said that after a lifetime of voting independently, he only joined one around three years ago.
After being independent for the majority of his voting career, Hagen joined the Democratic Party in November 2022, according to an examination of public records.
The candidate said that his work in the non-profit sector was a contributing factor in his choice to register.
As a lifelong member and president of the Protectors of Pine Oak Woods, one of the Island’s top environmental advocacy organizations, Hagen has been an active local environmentalist for many years.
On Monday, he also made an effort to prove his conservative credentials by declaring that combating congestion pricing, which is primarily outside the jurisdiction of the New York City Council, will be one of his major goals.
Hagen is a party to a federal lawsuit filed in January 2024 by Michael Mulgrew, the head of the United Federation of Teachers, to stop congestion pricing.
Hagen, who is unquestionably one of the most well-known non-Republicans to run for the Council seat in recent memory, would probably have a difficult opponent in a district that has been dominated by Republicans since its creation in 1992.
Whether he wins or loses in the spring, Hagen stated Monday that he would run as a Democrat in the general election in November. Candidates will run unaffiliated in the election scheduled for April 29.
Among his rivals, Horowitz is likewise a Democrat, while Morano, like Hagen, only recently registered as a Republican following years of independence. On Monday, the latter expressed his expectation that a longer run of independence in Staten Island will help him win in April.
According to him, the people of Staten Island are worried about issues that affect the entire island, not just the party. It is not a political issue; rather, it is about who is working for the community.
Borelli and certain members of the elected establishment of the local Republican party have endorsed Morano. Borelli was accompanied by Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island/South Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (R-East Shore/South Brooklyn), who leads the local party, during the kickoff of Morano’s campaign on January 26.
Since two of the South Shore’s most recent elected representatives on the City Council were elected in this manner, voters on the South Shore are probably accustomed to special elections.
After Vincent Ignizio, the current deputy executive director of the New York City Board of Elections, left in 2015 to take a position at Catholic Charities of Staten Island, Borelli took over.
Following the departure of his Council predecessor, State Senator Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore), to the state Senate, Ignizio assumed office in 2007.
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