Despite Heated Race, Gentile Re-Elected By 27-Point Margin

It was a hard fought victory, but Councilman Vincent Gentile won reelection to a third term last night, defeating Republican opponent John Quaglione by 5,476 votes, a 27.1 point margin.

Now to be the most senior member of the City Council, the incumbent Democrat earned a seal of approval for his record in the community, despite strong criticism from his opponent.

“The hardworking people of the 43rd District have spoken and renewed my contract! I am absolutely honored to continue representing Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Bensonhurst in the New York City Council,” Gentile said in an e-mail to Bensonhurst Bean. “Since day one, I have worked to make our community the best place to live, work, and raise a family and I will make it my duty to continue this fight for the next four years. You gave me your vote and I give you my word: I will always put the 43rd first.”

Quaglione, an aide to State Senator Marty Golden, ran a campaign critical of Gentile, slamming him for what he depicted as a lackluster record despite a decade in office.

The Republican hit Gentile repeatedly for losing out on discretionary funding for the neighborhood, saying that the community slipped to 50th out of 51 districts in the amount of funding it received. He also made hay out of Gentile’s 2006 vote to support the Gravesend Bay Waste Transfer Terminal before eventually opposing it, and allowing quality of life in the community to decline.

But voters backed up Gentile, not Quaglione, apparently giving approval to Gentile’s record, as well as his history of quarreling with Council leadership, which, he said, accounted for the discretionary funding cuts from a vindictive speaker.

Voters also gave the A-O-K to Gentile’s third term, which the councilman argued would put him in a Council leadership position to obtain more resources for the neighborhoods he serves.

Aside from Gentile, other Democratic candidates for City Council had a satisfying night in Southern Brooklyn, despite the fact that it’s one of few areas where Republican Joe Lhota took a sizable percentage of the vote in his race for mayor.

Here are the other results of other Southern Brooklyn City Council races:

43rd District (Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights)

• John Quaglione (R) – 7,162 votes (35.6%)
• Patrick Dwyer (Gm) – 342 votes (1.7%)

44th District (Borough Park, Midwood and Bensonhurst)

• Joseph Hayon (R) – 2,990 (18%)

45th District (Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood)

• Erlene King (R) – 664 (3.2%)

46th District (Mill Basin, Marine Park, Canarsie)

• Anthony Testaverde – 4,834 (19.7%)

47th District (Coney Island, Gravesend, Bensonhurst, Brighton Beach)

• Andrew Sullivan (R) – 3,112 (26.8%)
• Connis Mobley (ScC) – 224 (1.9%)

48th District (Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach, Midwood)

• David Storobin (R) – 6,645 (39.1%)
• Igor Oberman (WF) – 850 (5%)
• Alexander Lotovsky (Other) – 138 (0.8%)

With tremendous thanks to WNYC, for the live election breakdowns.