A judge’s ruling that declared Phil Ragusa chairman of the Queens Republican Party last week has done little to mend the fractured organization.
Our Lisa L. Colangelo reports:
Former City Councilman Thomas Ognibene, who challenged Ragusa in dueling county organization meetings, said he is still weighing his options on whether to appeal the judge’s decision.
“There is no Kumbaya moment,” Ognibene
(pictured)
told the Daily News on Tuesday. “I don’t believe they have represented the interests of the Republican Party.”
Ognibene, supported by GOP Councilman Eric Ulrich and his chief of staff, Bart Haggerty, declared himself chairman of the county party after
an organizational meeting in Richmond Hill on Sept. 28
.
Ragusa was re-elected during a meeting held at the same time in Flushing.
Supreme Court Judge Phyllis Flug ruled that only Ragusa, as the outgoing chairman, was authorized to hold a meeting.
, Flug said notices of the other meeting organized by Haggerty were “designed to create confusion and to disrupt the internal affairs of the Queens County Republican Party.”
Vince Tabone, executive vice chairman of the party and a Ragusa ally, dismissed Ognibene’s complaints about the organization and pointed to the judge’s ruling.
“Our record is better than they are making it out to be,” said Tabone. “We have fielded more Republican candidates and elected more Republican candidates than has been done in Queens in decades.”
Tabone said the party is turning its focus to winning seats in upcoming elections, not “stoking historical grievances.”
“We will work with anyone who wants to work with us,” he said.
But some Republicans are worried that the fractured party will make it even tougher to raise funds and field candidates in the borough, which is dominated by Democratic voters.
“On the heels of the important 2012 elections, we need to come together and make sure everybody in the borough has a say at the decision-making table,” said James McClelland, a Republican consultant who is also chief of staff to Councilman Peter Koo.
Rep. Bob Turner’s election “has proven that Republicans can be competitive in districts where we didn t think we could win,” McClelland added. “It’s more important than ever to have a unified party.”
