According to the Legislative Reapportionment website (LATFOR), in 2002, the 34th AD was only 21% hon-Hispanic white. However, it was only 2% black.

Do Latinos and Asians invariably support a black candidate against a white? Ask Barack Obama what he thinks, and get back to me. (LOL!)

That being said, my sympathies here are with Marlene. The whole Queens/Bronx decline and subsititute system of primogeniture has got to come to an end. At least let's have real elections for vacancies.

Plus, while Marlene may be a little bit eccentric (or stark raving mad), she's also smart and hardworking, and will drive the powers that be insane.

And, in this case, they've certainly earned it.     

Marlene is nuts, out of control and a freak.  What better missile to fire at the Queens Bosses? She will make noise and lose like she always does.  Running around in circles as always.

There are no female elected officials in that district except term limited Helen Sears and every time a woman attempts to run for office out of western queens she is shut down, put down, slandered by these power hungry men with disparaging remarks.

I am sick and tired of women always being on the attack whenever they attempt to even the playing field in the political or corporate game. It is horrible that in 2008 that women are still suffering this way. I beleive since she is a woman of color they are going to give her a even harder time in her challenges.

You must stay stong like Hillary. It's hard to fine women who are strong enough to stand up and I support all of them!

Marlene is a single divorced Black mother of two and has never used this fact or race as an excuse not to be successful or work hard for what she believes in.  I commend her becuase a lot of women would have given up, but you are setting a good example for your children and others alike.  Unlike other elected officials in our area, except Hiriam Marlen would of earned her seat.

Maybe if some of you who wrote nasty remarks about people would get up off your asses and run for office instead of hiding behind your computers we wouldn't have incompetent out of state elected officials represnting us. Senator Sabini is one of the few in that area who have actually lived in Jackson Hieghts his whole life and not just kept an address.

In the past they attacked Hiriam for not living there and he did.  Isn't it funny - those rumors proably came from the people who don't live there and hold office.

I am tired of these sorry elected officials who want the "position", but not the "job".  Maybe someone can tell me how I can obtain an elected officials position without petitioning or going through the process.  Doesn't the community deserve better.

They did it to our future Senator Hiriam Monseratte, he stayed strong and you do the same.   

Keep going Marlene - a woman's work is never done!!! 

There are no female elected officials in that district except term limited Helen Sears and every time a woman attempts to run for office out of western queens she is shut down, put down, slandered by these power hungry men with disparaging remarks.

I am sick and tired of women always being on the attack whenever they attempt to even the playing field in the political or corporate game. It is horrible that in 2008 that women are still suffering this way. I beleive since she is a woman of color they are going to give her a even harder time in her challenges.

You must stay stong like Hillary. It's hard to fine women who are strong enough to stand up and I support all of them!

Marlene is a single divorced Black mother of two and has never used this fact or race as an excuse not to be successful or work hard for what she believes in.  I commend her becuase a lot of women would have given up, but you are setting a good example for your children and others alike.  Unlike other elected officials in our area, except Hiriam Marlen would of earned her seat.

Maybe if some of you who wrote nasty remarks about people would get up off your asses and run for office instead of hiding behind your computers we wouldn't have incompetent out of state elected officials represnting us. Senator Sabini is one of the few in that area who have actually lived in Jackson Hieghts his whole life and not just kept an address.

In the past they attacked Hiriam for not living there and he did.  Isn't it funny - those rumors proably came from the people who don't live there and hold office.

I am tired of these sorry elected officials who want the "position", but not the "job".  Maybe someone can tell me how I can obtain an elected officials position without petitioning or going through the process.  Doesn't the community deserve better.

They did it to our future Senator Hiriam Monseratte, he stayed strong and you do the same.   

Keep going Marlene - a woman's work is never done!!! 

I don't know if she's a control freak, and I do think she's a very nice woman, I do concur that Ms. Tapper is "nuts."

The underlying question here is whether anything can be done about the way people are appointed to these seats that finally come open after decades of do-little incumbents being reelected.

Not all of these people are bad, Linda Rosenthal is doing great, and Micah Kellner is off to a good start, but why can't these people at least do what Rep. Major Owens had the decency to do: announce shortly after being reelected that it was his last term, so people who want the seat can actually run for it and the people get to vote for someone in real election.

Unfortunately its the Gov. Spitzers and Patersons that enable this system by giving these people jobs after they've been reelected or, in the case of Assm. Lafayette, right after petitioning ended. I don't know Mr. Lafayette, but I think it's disgusting that he's lived off the public for decades, but he didn't give his constituents, who relected him term after term after term after term (etc.), their right to a real election to pick his successor. Now his Chief of Staff, who enabled him for how long will have the seat until someone gives her at an opportune moment to appoint someone else to the seat. This sounds more like USSR than the USA.

Rosenthal and Kellner are a little different. Grannis had no idea he was getting a job, and Stringer could have lost for Beep. Lafayette knew exactly what he was doing.

And don't give Major so much credit. The last time he ran County insisted they control his vacancy committee before they circulated his petitions.  He couldn't have pulled off what Lafayette just did.  

What's this about?

<a href="http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/den-dekker-replacing-lafayette-ballot">Den Dekker Replacing Lafayette on Ballot</a>

I knew and know nothing about any of these people -- their race, class, sex, position, relationships, history.

All that matters to me is this. It is damn hard to get on the ballot and impossible to defeat incumbents in the legislature, not matter how bad they are.

And to ensure there always is an incumbent, and never a real choice in an open seat, legislators are expected to leave office in the middle of their term, allowing their replacement to be appointed in a special election no one hears about and only insiders and special interests vote in.

To me, this is just another coronation. Tapper should ask why her predecessor resigned when he did, and let it be known that if they vote for the designee they have no vote at all.

The unelected governor is trying so hard to buy the queens organization that he is giving jobs to incumbent pos who are ready to go to the  horse farm.

First Sabini and now Lafayette if the big guns are playing along nothing going to change from day one

As the Campaign Manager for Congressman Major Owens in 2004, I can state with authority that only one person controlled the Committee to Fill Vacancies on the Congressman's petition -- Major Owens. Other than some friendly inclusions, County had no control over the Committee and would not have had control if there had been a problem.

A shout out of thanks to the writer who understood that some elected officials are interested in respecting democratic processes and not abusing the public's trust. It is rare, however ...

Anyone who runs against an incumbent is nuts. I'd be happy to see a nut in Albany, just to cause problems for the bipartisan machine. At least there is a hope the 4 am deal that screws the vast majority of todays's New Yorkers, and all future New Yorkers, in favor of those with ever-expanding special deals would be 211 to 1 instead of 212 to 0.