Albanese was a four-term Council Member, representing the Bay Ridge area in Brooklyn from 1983 to 1997. He is an attorney and a financial advisor who has run for mayor four times. Most recently, he served on the 2019 Charter Revision Commission. Albanese was known to be an independent Council Member, voting against the party leadership’s positions and pressing for reform issues like public campaign finance, which he helped pass. He promises to continue that work if back in the Council by introducing bills that establish a campaign finance voucher program, non-partisan elections, and other political reform. Albanese supported most of the items in CU’s candidate questionnaire except for two, which he had reservations about. He noted he wants to be assured that police officers’ due process rights are protected when the Civilian Complaint Review Board gets full access to material from the police, and asked to see more details of the proposal to consolidate the three bodies that exercise oversight over the NYPD. On non reform issues, he says he’ll prioritize property tax reform and investments in public transportation, two major issues in Staten Island. Citizens Union appreciates longtime advocacy for reforming the political system, and believes he has the experience and knowledge needed for the job. We endorse him in this race.

George Wonica is a real estate broker and appraiser with deep roots in Staten Island. This is his first entrance to local politics, and he says his experience as a businessman will serve him well in negotiations and day-to-day work in the legislative body. He served on the local community board. Wonica’s top priority for this position is to make the property tax system more equal, an issue he says he has worked on for years. Wonica opposed all of the questions on the CU candidate questionnaire, except one: he supports making all actions designed to influence any City Council outcome reportable as a lobbying expense. His views on police accountability and the current problems in that area were particularly not in line with our agenda. Although he does not support most reform issues, Citizens Union found Wonica to be intelligent and energetic, and was impressed by his thoughtful responses. We encourage him to continue his involvement in the civic arena.