By: Rob Otto

The gloves are off in the battle for a Queens City Council seat, as term-limited Councilman Robert Holden has accused a political operative with deep GOP roots of orchestrating a “dirty tricks” campaign to sabotage two of his preferred successors — while aiding a Democrat opponent who’s allegedly lying about Holden’s support.

As first reported by the New York Post, the drama centers on Paul Pogozelski, a civic activist and Democrat who’s seeking to replace Holden in the Middle Village council district. Pogozelski hired longtime Republican strategist Robert Hornak — a former executive director of the Queens GOP — as a campaign consultant earlier this year, a move that Holden said set off alarm bells.

“Paul Pogozelski is clearly operating from the dirty playbook crafted by the disgraced former members of the Queens Republican machine — lying about endorsements, attacking the character of residents, and taking credit for accomplishments he had nothing to do with,” Holden told the Post. “Now he’s brought one of its chief architects, Robert Hornak, directly into his campaign — an operative closely tied to former public officials with corruption issues and some who served prison time.”

Hornak’s GOP tenure dates back to a scandalous chapter in Queens political history. He held a leadership role during a period when party officials like then-Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone and City Councilman Dan Halloran were arrested in a federal sting that exposed a brazen $200,000 bribery plot. The scheme aimed to get Democrat Malcolm Smith on the Republican mayoral ballot line in 2013. All three were convicted and served time. Hornak was never charged but remained a known associate of the disgraced inner circle.

Holden, a moderate Democrat known for crossing party lines, is supporting two of his staffers to succeed him — Republican Alicia Vaichunas and Democrat Phil Wong — and claims Pogozelski is misleading voters by saying he’s Holden’s pick.

Pogozelski, however, has denied those allegations, saying he only worked briefly with Hornak’s firm, Lexington Public Affairs. “I paid them $3,000 in January, but we parted ways in less than a month,” Pogozelski said, pushing back on what he calls Holden’s “false” claims. “My grassroots campaign is gaining support in Holden’s backyard, so it’s clear people are looking for a new face in local government.”

Hornak, for his part, came out swinging in defense of himself — and Pogozelski.

“Apparently, Bob Holden doesn’t understand the warning about not throwing stones when you live in glass houses,” Hornak said. “If we’re talking about guilt by association, maybe he should explain his own ties to Eric Ulrich.”

Ulrich, a former Republican Councilman, resigned in disgrace as the city’s buildings commissioner in 2022 after being charged in a sweeping bribery case.

Adding to the chaotic field in the district are other colorful candidates, including Democrat Dermot Smyth, a United Federation of Teachers strategist backed by Borough President Donovan Richards, and Republican Jonathan Rinaldi — a self-proclaimed “unvaccinated” sperm donor nicknamed “The Sperminator,” who claims to have fathered over a dozen children.

With party lines blurring and old political ghosts haunting the race, Queens voters are facing more than just typical campaign drama — they’re watching an all-out political turf war unfold.