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Hiram Monserrate Tries to Get Back Into Politics With District Leader Run

By Katie Honan | June 20, 2016 12:36pm
 Hiram Monserrate has sent out fliers around East Elmhurst and Corona for his September election. 
Hiram Monserrate has sent out fliers around East Elmhurst and Corona for his September election. 
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DNAinfo

QUEENS — A disgraced former pol is trying to get back into politics in the neighborhood's district leader race, touting his accomplishments without mentioning his 2009 conviction for assault.

Hiram Monserrate — who was booted from the state Senate in 2009 after he was convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend — has posted fliers around Corona and East Elmhurst listing his accomplishments ahead of the September primary. 

"A lifetime of service and delivering for our community," the flier says, noting his time in the City Council, state Senate, NYPD and Marine Corps.

"Leadership with results. Our struggle continues," the bottom of the flier says.

Monserrate is barred from running for most elected offices since he was convicted of a felony. But he can run for the role of district leader — an unpaid, volunteer job that doesn't have much power, officials said.

A higher-up in the Queens Democratic party said his candidacy is surprising.

"He is someone so universally known and so universally unliked," he said. "To know him is to not like him."

State Sen. Jose Peralta said Monserrate "should have learned the lesson" from his previous attempts running for office.

"It is clear that the community does not want him back, and the proof is that community members rejected him, not only once, but twice," he said.

Monserrate could not be reached for comment.