Addabbo is Ready to Run Against Maltese

Democratic Councilman Joe Addabbo is having a fund-raiser on May 24th for his not-yet-announced race for state Senate against Republican Serph Maltese.

Maltese is best known outside his Queens district for having one of the closest re-election campaigns last year. Democrats narrowly lost that race with candidate Albert Baldeo, who is vowing to run again.

Helping out Addabbo, according to this fund-raising email a reader forwarded, is Stuart Appelbaum of RWDSU, and other labor leaders. Addabbo, coincidentally, chairs the labor committee in the Council.

"I gave him a pass in 2006," Addabbo just told me just now, referring to his decision not to run against Maltese earlier.

Addabbo said he'll make his formal announcement about the 2008 cycle at an appropriate time. That appropriate time, he said, won't be May 24th.

And from the Department of Coincidences...Addabbo was talked about as a potential state Senate candidate last year by unnamed people in Bloomberg's administration. Today, Addabbo appeared alongside Bloomberg in the Rockaways, where Bloomberg was denying a story, from unnamed sources, about running for governor.

Anyway, here's the fund-raising email:

Stuart Appelbaum
President, Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union
(RWDSU, UFCW)
John R. Durso
President, Local 338, RWDSU, UFCW
&
Bruce Both
President, Local 1500, UFCW
for a
Breakfast Fundraiser

In Honor of
Hon. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.
For New York State Senate, 15 th District

Thursday, May 24, 2007
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Local 338 RWDSU, UFCW
Executive Board Room
97-45 Queens Blvd.
, 3 rd Floor
Rego Park , New York 11374

Friend - $250.00
Sponsor - $500.00
Benefactor - $1000.00

RSVP with enclosed reply card. For information call
(718) ###- #### ext ###