Bay Ridge GOPer impressed by Kasich at town hall

March 31, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

John and Kerry Quaglione got to meet John Kasich (center) after the town hall. Photos courtesy of John Quaglione

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Bay Ridge resident John Quaglione had already been leaning toward supporting John Kasich for president before he attended a televised town hall the Ohio governor held on Wednesday. But he was even more impressed with Kasich after the meeting.

“Gov. Kasich is getting more and more attention as he is speaking about the critical issues facing our nation,” Quaglione told the Brooklyn Eagle in an email on Thursday. “Such a focus does not exist with the other remaining Republican candidates, because there is too much nonsense getting in the way.”

Quaglione, deputy chief of staff to state Sen. Marty Golden, and his wife, Kerry Quaglione, a public school assistant principal, went to the town hall at St. Helen’s Church in Howard Beach on March 30 and listened as Kasich spent more than an hour fielding questions on everything from terrorism to Superstorm Sandy relief from NBC Political Director and “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd and local residents.

The town hall, which was taped, aired on MSNBC on Wednesday night.

“It was a great opportunity to spend part of yesterday at a taping of an MSNBC town hall with presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. John Kasich in advance of the April 19th New York Primary,” Quaglione said. “Republican presidential candidates hardly ever campaign in New York state, so indeed yesterday was unique.”

Quaglione, who ran for Bay Ridge’s City Council seat in 2013 with support from the Republican and conservative parties, said he would like to see the GOP nominate a presidential candidate who can beat either candidate that the Democrats put up, whether it is former secretary of state Hillary Clinton or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“The Republican Party needs to bring the conversation back to the issues in order to stop Hillary or Bernie from winning the White House in November,” Quaglione told the Eagle.

Kasich is currently running far behind front-runner Donald Trump in the polls heading into the New York Primary. A Quinnipiac University poll released on March 31 had Trump way ahead of his rivals, with 56 percent. Texas Sen.Cruz had 20 percent and Kasich had 19 percent, according to the poll.

Kasich also campaigned in Queens on Wednesday and was hit with criticism for eating pizza with a fork and knife instead of using his hands like New Yorkers do, during a stop at Gino’s Pizzeria and Restaurant.

Kasich isn’t the only current presidential candidate to ever commit that culinary faux pas, however.

Politico reported on Thursday that back in 2011, Trump used a fork while eating pizza with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at a Famous Famiglia pizza place in Manhattan.