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Democratic District Leader Bob Rothermel will not run for re-election.

Rothermel will finish out his term of office and will be supporting Tom Bornemann to fill his position as district leader.

Rothermel was born and raised in Ridgewood (living in the house he was born in for 75 years). He attended local schools: P.S. 93, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Grover Cleveland High School and the City College of New York.

He has been a member of the Ridgewood Democratic Club since 1964. He has served as a county committeeman, judicial delegate, state committee for six years and as district leader since 1982.

Rothermel fought the City of New York’s ban on lights in the parks in 1976 and won.

He took two local massage parlors in Maspeth and Ridgewood to court, resulting in their closing and being fined. He successfully fought illegal dumping in Maspeth.

In addition, he gained a precept on a vacant school and fought against an after-hours club in Sunnyside. He was successful in the removal of Joker Poker gambling machines and closed down a number of reader advisors in Queens County.

He has served the state of New York for 31 years, retiring from the Supreme Court in 1995. One of his proudest moments was receiving the first Public Service Award presented by the Borough President of Queens and the New York Telephone Company. His proudest appointment came from the late Congressman Tom Manton to serve on the military academy Selection Committee to interview candidates for the United States Military Academy. He later was also appointed by Congressman Joseph Crowley.

Rothermel serves as the executive director of the Community Advocacy Center, and is on the Board of Governors of the Queens Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc, of the Queens County Bar Association.

He still lectures on “Access to the Courts,” “Elder Law and Estate Planning” and can be found conducting tours of the Supreme Court.

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At the Queens County Conservative Party Executive Committee meeting, party faithful gathered to interview all prospective candidates for the upcoming special election to fill the 30th Council District seat vacancy. The conservatives resoundingly endorsed former City Council Member Thomas V. Ognibene of Middle Village.

Ognibene was the first City Council Member from the 30th Council District and served for 10 years from 1991 to 2001 respectively. In addition to serving in various committee posts, Ognibene spent seven years as Minority Leader of the City Council, where he gained the reputation of being the “conservative conscience” of the council body. After a distinguished career in public service, the Councilman left City Hall in 2001 due to term limits.

In 2005, Ognibene ran on the Conservative Party ticket for Mayor.

After receiving the office backing of the Conservative Party, Ognibene expressed his deep appreciation and gratitude.

“I am truly honored to have the support of the Conservative Party and my good friends in the conservative movement. In all of my past candidacies, I have enjoyed the support of the Conservative Party and its growing membership, and they were always an integral part of my success,” said Ognibene.

Tom Long, the chairman of the Queens County Conservative Party, also expressed optimism.

“During his tenure in public office, Tom Ognibene was a strong voice for our conservative principles. He was a champion for reducing the city's vast bureaucracy. cutting the tax burden on our citizens, ensuring better public safety through increased funding for police in our communities, and preventing overdevelopment in the neighborhoods he represented. I know that he has the hands-on knowledge, experience and proven leadership to be ready to serve on day one,” stated Chairman Long.

The special election is scheduled for Tuesday, June 3.

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State Sen. Serphin Maltese’s campaign committee has released its first television commercial looking toward the coming November elections.

The ad highlights the senator’s battles last year against the proposal by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer on the current budget; including Spitzer’s attempt to cut health care and education aid to Queens County. These cuts would have had a direct impact on the residents of Queens County and the constituents of his 15th Senate District, Maltese noted.

He said, “Over the past year and a half we fought for hard working middle class families of New York State and Queens County. When former Governor Spitzer was trying to cut $350 million in health care aid for our seniors, middle class families, and nursing homes, we fought these cuts and won. I’ve constantly worked to make sure Queens taxpayers get our fair share, whether it is in increased education aid for our schools and colleges or more health care funding for our hospitals and nursing homes.

“While I was in Albany fighting against these cuts, Governor Spitzer was recruiting a candidate to run against me. Now that support is detrimental and we see candidates backing away from him. I have always been an independent fighter for the hard working, middle class taxpayers of the 15th Senate District and Queens County, and that will never change,” Maltese said.

It was noted that in the 2007-2008 budget, Maltese worked to restore or add $440 million in education aid. Now, the city receives over $8,250 in state aid per enrolled child. The state educational aid to New York City has increased by $644 million (8.4 percent) above last year.

In addition, Senator Maltese fought to restore or add $350 million in health care cuts, a portion of which includes restoring $21 million in cuts in nursing homes in New York City and adding $42.5 million in funding for hospitals, like Wyckoff Heights, Jamaica and Parkway hospitals, over the previous year’s budget.

Maltese’s campaign will also be releasing additional commercials. They will highlight the senator’s tough stances against crime. As a former Queens prosecutor and a deputy chief of the Homicide Bureau, and a former chairman of the Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee, he has been a leader in crime fighting and many of the laws that he authored and passed, have given law enforcement the necessary tools to protect vulnerable children, seniors, and the hard working families of New York.

These ads will be running on a heavy cable television schedule throughout the 15th State Senate District.