Nomiki Konst claims her opponent within the democratic major Kristen Gonzalez has hit her with intimidation techniques.
Stefan Jeremiah
These Large Apple socialists are seeing crimson.
A hotly contested race for a Queens state Senate seat has changed into bloodsport between two Progressive candidates. Nomiki Konst, 38, a former journalist for the Younger Turks and one-time candidate for public advocate, claims she has been hit with harassment and intimidation techniques from Kristen Gonzalez, a product supervisor for American Categorical who has accused Konst of utilizing racist “dog-whistles” towards her.
Each ladies are a part of a crowded Democratic major battling it out for the 59th State Senate district that covers Astoria, Lengthy Island Metropolis, Greenpoint, North Williamsburg, and a slice of japanese Manhattan.
“Your techniques towards us have inspired supporters of yours to threaten, harass & bodily intimidate me, our workforce & supporters. We don’t really feel secure & it’s acquired to finish, now. No person must be afraid to run, communicate out or marketing campaign,” Konst tweeted Wednesday.
“Simply this morning on the subway my volunteer organizer and I have been verbally harassed and bodily threatened by your supporter. That is dangerous for democracy.”
Konst, 38, instructed The Publish, “Gonzalez’s marketing campaign bodily intimidated us at a polling web site we have been at for hours. Gonzalez herself has personally referred to as our endorsers and intimidated them into not supporting us.”
For her half, the Queens-born Gonzalez has accused Konst of racism for describing Gonzalez as a carpetbagger. “She has twice sarcastically mentioned to my face, ‘Welcome to Astoria,” Gonzalez fumed in a July 8 tweet.
“The insinuation that I'm not from, and have to be welcomed to a neighborhood I frolicked in as a toddler, within the borough I’ve spent my life in, is condescending and incorrect. However we’ve seen these dog-whistles earlier than,” Gonzalez continued.
On July 11, a Konst marketing campaign occasion at Katch Astoria was disrupted by a crazed man shouting insults. The person finally “stormed” the occasion, Konst mentioned, and the police have been referred to as.
“The suspect was gone upon police arrival,” The NYPD mentioned. Konst positioned the blame on the “false allegations” put out by the Gonzalez marketing campaign. Video of the incident has circulated on-line and been retweeted by Konst.
Staff Gonzalez pushed again, claiming the disrupter was a identified neighborhood nut and never affiliated with their marketing campaign.
“Nobody from our marketing campaign has been concerned in what’s been alleged. Nonetheless, I’m very sorry to listen to that Nomiki skilled this,” a Gonzalez marketing campaign spokesperson mentioned.
The dustup is barely the newest in an extended and bitter major between the 2 ladies.
Gonzalez, 26, has locked up a lot of the institution Progressive endorsements, together with the Democratic Socialists of America, the Working Households Occasion and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Konst’s entry into the race has irritated that coalition, who worry she is going to play spoiler and permit a extra reasonable candidate to triumph.
The main centrist contender is Elizabeth Crowley, a former Metropolis Council member, and cousin of former Queens Rep. Joe Crowey, who was famously dethroned by AOC in 2018.
“Crowley has sufficient of a progressive and centrist document and she will block the opposite two who're gobbling one another on the left,” mentioned longtime Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf.
The Aug 23 major may also embody Mike Corbett, a vice chair of the state Democratic Occasion and Francoise Olivas, a small enterprise proprietor.
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