Halloran Rep Unhappy With Voice
By ROSS BARKAN
New York City Councilmen don’t readily enter the public imagination. They lack the bully pulpit of a mayor, or the national star power of a media-savvy congressman. Their specific duties, to the average citizen, can seem opaque.
Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) has been an exception thus far, garnering prominent media attention for a video of a confrontation with a car dealership employee and seizing headlines for being the only known pagan elected to political office.
And recently, Halloran was the subject of a lengthy front page story in last week’s Village Voice, which detailed how some pagan followers have grown disenchanted with the Councilman, as well as picking apart the overall tumultuous arc of Halloran’s political career. Halloran’s spokesman, Steve Stites, was vocal about his opinions of the story.
“The liberal press, such as the Voice, based in downtown Manhattan, and knowing zilch about Northeast Queens, have stooped to some pretty creative new lows in trying to bash the Councilman,” Stites wrote in a furious email. “It makes you wonder why they’re so afraid of him, or so fascinated by him. My guess is that the left-wing press doesn’t like the Councilman because he’s outspoken, effective and conservative, and he doesn’t play by their rules of political correctness and go-along get-along politics.”
Written by Voice staff writer Steven Thrasher, the article—titled “America’s Next Top Heathen”—is a grand tour of Halloran’s political career, recounting his alleged falling out with pagan followers at his own Theodish tribe, his opposition to a “mosque” built near Ground Zero, his attack on abortion rights, his financial troubles, his anti-union views, and a raucous run-in with Whitestone traffic cop Daniel Chu.
Thrasher paints Halloran as a peculiar, contradictory figure in New York City politics, one who was intolerant of the Muslim center being built near the World Trade Center site despite speaking in depth about the importance of religious freedom; Thrasher cited an instance when Halloran sat on a panel with noted Muslim-basher Pamela Geller.
“A lot of the heathen followers told me he was very charismatic,” said Thrasher. “They felt very drawn to him, and were appreciative of his intelligence and the seriousness of which he approached heathenery.”
Thrasher said he wrote the article because it made such a good story—a politician with a faith unlike any other. When he obtained a Yahoo discussion thread several months ago that allegedly featured Halloran allegedly conversing about the nature of abortion with fellow pagans, it piqued Thrasher’s interest in the Councilman. He dove into the particulars of Halloran’s pagan orthodoxy, comparing the meticulous attention to detail that the Theodish tribe paid to ceremonial rites to “Civil War re-enactors.” Thrasher meant this as a compliment.
Stites, who said Halloran himself did not care to comment “on left-wing garbage,” took issue with Thrasher portraying Halloran as a paper Tea Party candidate because he did not cut spending when it came to his own district, among other issues. Stites said Thrasher lacked an understanding of how the City Council works and that any discretionary spending that would be declined would mean that money could not go to the people of northeast Queens.
“Northeast Queens, which has historically been one of the most underserved areas of the City, would remain that way,” Stites said.“Due to Halloran’s hard work, the district is in better shape today than it has been in years.”
Reach Reporter Ross Barkan at rbarkan@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 127.