Jackson Heights Life

What do you think that other reason is?  Is she a Monserrate supporter?

Supporter is a strong word. And this is all speculation on my part, but if Sears is successful in splitting the vote and getting Monserrate in office then he owes her big time. So perhaps this is an easy way to get a job since she's been out of one since January, and at the same time stick it to the voters of her council district who threw her out.

Oh no

What is also important to remember, for registered Democrats, is defeating Sears and Monserrate in their races in September for their respective Democratic District Leader positions.  Unless I am mistaken, they are both currently party officials.

Very true, I think a lot of people over look District Leaders and what they mean to our political process. If both Sears and Monserrate maintain their Disrtict Leader status it means they still have sway over Democratic politics in our neighborhood. Which is unfathomable considering their willingness to caucus with Republican's in the state Senate, which this past year led to 5 weeks of deadlocked nothingness.

other than hardcore, delusioned monserrate supporters.... why would anyone vote for monserrate over peralta?

The same reason tis entire country voted for Bush, a second time.

I'm a tad late to this thread but WTF?   

Shame on her.  Really. 

Oh No, She's Back!!!!!
Why do we get stuck with the worst of the worst
Monserrate, Sabini, Sears
Why couldn't we have a John Liu or Melinda Katz

Find a good candidate for our area is half the battle, and then supporting them and the process by helping increase voter turnout is the other half.  Maybe local business can give incentives to people who vote, like fries or muffins or something.  The way Starbuck's did for the national election.

A very informative article from City Hall Magazine:

Queens Republicans Pin Hopes For Future On Helen, Then Stuart, Sears For Senate
While courting Conservatives, former Democratic Council member stays pro-choice
By Chris Bragg
 
Running against Hiram Monserrate and Assembly Member Jose Peralta in the condensed timeframe of three weeks, former Council Member Helen Sears and the campaign she has hurriedly begun putting together as the Republican nominee are focusing on turning out the base of voters that supported her in the last Council election. If they can raise money quickly enough—Senate Republican leadership is expected to jump on board—negative mailers about Monserrate’s legal issues or Peralta’s campaign finance issues could be sent to the district’s sizable Latino population to drive down turnout.

If Sears wins election, she is expected to run in the Democratic primary in September, and again as a Republican in the general election. As a swing vote on the budget, Republicans are hoping she would win enough member items to shore up her base of support by this fall. In the long-term, they also see her son, Stuart, as a potential replacement for the Senate seat. (At one time, he was thought to be a potential successor running as a Democrat in her former Council district.)

Sears said she would cite her experience negotiating the Council budget and her record fighting against congestion pricing as reasons to send her to Albany. She cited her vote in favor of the Kingsbridge Armory development—she was the lone person on the Council to support the project—as a sign of her independent leadership.

Sears said she was still in talks with the Conservative and Independence parties about running on their lines. On the Council, Sears was the first ever chair of the Women’s Issues Committee and a champion of pro-choice issues, raising a potential problem in her plans to run on the pro-life Conservative Party line. But Queens Republicans still ultimately expect her to win the party’s nomination. A Queens Republican source said that she has committed to vote against gay marriage legislation.

Sears said she remained committed to her pro-choice positions.

“I’ve always supported women, period,” she said.

As for the Queens Democrats who had backed her in three Council races, Sears said, “they’re just not happy” about her unexpected decision to run as a Republican.

Though Queens Republican sources confirmed that Sears had agreed to conference with the GOP if elected, Sears declined to explicitly commit to either party in an interview on Sunday.

“I’ll conference with anyone who asks me,” she said.

The Republicans backing her were less circumspect.

“If we elect Helen, we change the leadership of the top of the state!” said Vince Tabone, executive vice president of the party, rallying about 20 Queens Republicans stalwarts gathered in Whitestone to select Sears as their candidate.

Sears also stoked the revolutionary talk, painting her unexpected candidacy as nothing less than an effort to overhaul state government.

“It’s currently on life support—I like to say that because of my background in health,” she said. “People have gotten lost in this process. It’s party this and party that. Where do the people fit in?”