Turner to Rescue Panicked Queens GOP?

This article was written by Matthew Hampton.

Things have not gone well for Queens Republicans recently. 

Two of the party's most influential names — Councilman Dan Halloran, R-Whitestone, and Vice Chairman Vince Tabone — were recently arrested, in an alleged corruption scheme.

That scandal may be the final straw for some exasperated Republicans in Queens, who are now calling for County Chairman Phil Ragusa to step down.

Local Republican leaders drafted a letter and sent it to Ragusa last week, according to the New York Daily News, urging him to step down so former U.S. Rep. Bob Turner could take his place.

Would he be interested? On Election Night in November, Turner, obviously crestfallen after the loss of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and local political ally Eric Ulrich, Turner claimed he was done with politics. 

"I deliberately made no decision until today on what I'm going to do, and one of those things is going to be not to be in politics," Turner said at the time. "So that's part of the decision."

Turner claimed in last week's article that he is not running for the position, but he also didn't shy away from dinging Ragusa either.

Turner's district — formerly the Queens Ninth — was drawn into oblivion during 2012 redistricting, forcing him to choose between attempting the jump to statewide office and running in unfriendly territory. 

Turner chose the former, declaring his intention to run against U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, but was unable to best statewide conservative choice Wendy Long in the primary.