2010 Election Update: Paez vs Pheffer

Republican and Rockaway resident Dr. Harold Paez, left, is challenging incumbent Audrey Pheffer (D-Ozone Park) for the 23rd District state Assembly seat Pheffer has held for more than 20 years.

From the August 18, 2010 edition of the Queens Chronicle South....


Paez to challenge Pheffer in 23rd AD


by Bryan Yurcan, Assistant Editor

In a year when the political climate does not seem to favor incumbents, both in Washington and in Albany, Dr. Harold Paez is hoping to ride the wave of voter dissatisfaction at the status quo into the Assembly this year.


Paez, a Rockaway resident and a foot and ankle specialist, is seeking to unseat longtime Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer (D-Ozone Park) in the 23rd Assembly District, running on the Republican and Conservative lines.


Paez believes that Pheffer, who has been in office since 1987, represents part of the “Albany dysfunction” that voters are unhappy about.


“We have the most dysfunctional legislature in the country,” he said. “We have the highest taxes and can’t pass a budget on time. She is a part of that.”


Paez, who is also the vice president of the Rockaway Republican Club, favors term limits for state legislators, and said if elected he would not become a perpetual candidate.


“I have a profession that I put on hold to run in this race,” he said. Paez works at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx and is on the staff of the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn.


“I don’t think 23 years is an appropriate amount of time for anyone to be in office,” he said.


Paez, who is of Colombian descent and speaks fluent Spanish, has received support from the National Republican Hispanic Club.


Fiscal responsibility and reducing the tax burden on New Yorkers is one of Paez’ main platforms.


Among the ideas he puts forth in this respect would be to vote against any new state taxes.


“I am quite concerned with the crushing taxation and out of control spending in this state,” he said.


Paez further said he would support a constitutional limit on annual raises for public employees, and an equal distribution of member item funds among the Assembly members.


Regarding issues such as economic development, Paez said he would push for a ferry service from Rockaway to Manhattan, with a possible links to Kennedy International Airport. He further said he would look at waterfront revitalization projects, such as the Rockaway wind farm proposal.


As a physician, medical issues are at the forefront for Paez. In that regard, he supports civil tort law reform, which he said would reduce doctors’ medical costs and fight to combat Medicaid fraud.


He also said he would support “strict enforcement of laws limiting practice by doctors who are identified as malpractice recidivists.”


In addition to being the Democratic candidate in the 23rd AD race, Pheffer is endorsed by the Independence Party and the Working Families Party.


According to filings with the city Campaign Finance Board, as of July Pheffer has raised more than $37,000 in her bid for re-election campaign, while Paez has raised a little over $2,000.


Even though Democrats in the district have a significant voter enrollment edge, Paez believes he can sway many independent, and even some conservative Democrat voters, to pull the lever for him as he goes out on the stump to make his case for election.


He points to the success that another Republican, City Council member Eric Ulrich, had in the council district that overlaps with much of the 23rd AD.


“I wouldn’t be in this if I didn’t think I could win,” he said.