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Democrat Dan Quart Wins Upper East Side Assembly Race

By Jill Colvin | September 14, 2011 8:51am
Dan Quart made a final push on the Upper East side on election day.
Dan Quart made a final push on the Upper East side on election day.
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DNAinfo/Jill Colvin

UPPER EAST SIDE — Democratic Assembly candidate Dan Quart sailed to victory Tuesday night in the 73rd Assembly District’s special election to fill the seat left vacant by Jonathan Bing.

Sixty-four percent of voters chose Quart, who during the campaign promised to improve air quality, bolster rent protections and help businesses struggling because of the Second Avenue Subway construction. His opponent, Paul Niehaus, won 34 percent of the vote.

Quart had also received backing from local officials, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who had rallied behind him almost immediately after Bing was tapped by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to serve as Special Deputy Superintendent of the New York Liquidation Bureau, which managed insolvent insurance companies.

Assembly candidature Paul Niehaus lost the seat last year to incumbent Jonathan Bing,
Assembly candidature Paul Niehaus lost the seat last year to incumbent Jonathan Bing,
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DNAinfo/Jill Colvin

“We just think it’s a testimony to the type of campaign we ran and the type of assemblyman that Dan will be,” said Quart spokeswoman Laura Kavanagh, as the team watched the results rolling in.

She said the campaign had done an exhaustive job canvassing, talking to voters and going door-to-door, and credited that hard work, along with Quart’s deep familiarity with the district for the win over Republican Niehaus, an attorney who has never held public office.

“He really a has a deep knowledge of the community and the issues,” Kavanagh said.

City Councilman Dan Garodnick, who stumped for Quart on the Upper East Side on Election Day, also offered praise.

“He has got a strong record of community involvement, from standing up for residents and business dealing with the Second Avenue subway construction, to protecting tenants and the environment,” he said. “I think he will be an excellent part of the East Side team.”

Niehaus, who had based his platform on “restoring fiscal sanity” in Albany, with reduced spending and lower taxes, did not return calls for comment Tuesday night.