Queens Race Defies Narrative Of Gay Rights, Reform

South Jamaica — Four years ago Shirley Huntley was the one running to throw a "bum" out. She earned her southeast Queens State Senate seat by narrowly winning a Democratic primary against Ada Smith, the incumbent who'd achieved infamy by allegedly tossing a coffee pot at a staffer.

Now Huntley is the incumbent in the cross-hairs, as challenger Lynn Nunes, a real-estate agent, comes to their September 14 primary contest with substantial money and a Daily News endorsement that could prove crucial in what is likely to be a very low-turnout race.

But the senate matchup is not the only race on Nunes' radar screen. He came out of political obscurity last year during his race for a City Council seat, falling just four votes short of defeating incumbent City Councilman Thomas White in the 2009 primary, another low turnout affair. White died last month, and the city's Campaign Finance Board said on Wednesday that Nunes was among 10 people who registered to participate in the November 2 special election to fill White's seat. Nunes seems to be hedging against a loss in next Tuesday's senate primary. And his sister has also registered for the race to fill White's seat, apparently in case Nunes decides not to run for it.

The senate race, meanwhile, has been cast as an aftershock of last December's senate defeat of a gay marriage bill. Huntley was one of eight Democrats to vote against the bill. She says she voted "no" because a poll of her constituents found that 62 percent opposed marriage equality. Nunes supports gay marriage and has attracted significant financial support from gay rights groups.
        
Charter champions cut checks

But it's clear that other issues are also at play in the 10th district, which is wedged between the Rockaways and Nassau County, including the neighborhoods of South Jamaica, Springfield Gardens, Laurelton, Broad Channel and parts of Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens and Lindenwood.
        
Both candidates have about $72,000 on hand, thanks to Huntley's fundraising frenzy at the end of August. Nunes has attracted donations from gay rights advocates—some $13,400 in contributions from organizations like Empire State Pride Agenda, Human Rights Campaign and the Stonewall Democrats, not to mention individual donors. But he appears to have received even more support from charter school supporters: $67,000 from identifiable charter school backers like Boykin Curry, Charles Ledley and Rafael Mayer—all members of the pro-charter Democrats for Educational Reform.
Nunes supports charter schools, with his website saying: "Our state cannot throw away creative solutions and innovations to schools and education policy. Lynn will explore every possible option in improving the way we educate our children for a better future."

Huntley originally opposed expanding the number of charter schools permitted in the state but ultimately voted for the change. She was a supporter of the 2009 "Better Schools Act" that attempted to weaken mayoral control of the schools and says she's launched a "parent training program" at several CUNY campuses.
        
Hospitals and houses are top concerns

Much of the legislation Huntley has introduced in the Senate deals with developmentally disabled people. She seeks the renaming of the state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities to the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, the extension of the deadline for parents to request records that might detail abuse in mental health facilities and the stiffening of criminal penalties against people who mistreat the mentally incompetent or physically disabled. Huntley also wants to require the state health department to prepare specific recommendations for bridging the gap for local residents when a hospital closes.