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Council Member Holden Looks to Form “Common Sense” Caucus of Moderate Members in City Council

Council Member Bob Holden speaking at a rally in support of the NYPD 108th Precinct in Sunnyside in August 2020. About 150 people turned out in support of the NYPD–including Holden. The supporters were greeted by about 100 protesters. The event took place without incident (Michael Dorgan, Queens Post)

Dec. 6, 2021 By Allie Griffin

Council Member Robert Holden is looking to form a bloc of like-minded moderate colleagues in the City Council to provide a counter to members on the “far left”.

Holden submitted paperwork to the Council Speaker’s Office to form the “Common Sense” caucus about two weeks ago and is confident it will be approved in the coming weeks, he told the Queens Post Friday.

He said about 10 to 12 current council members have expressed interest in joining the caucus.

Council Members Kalman Yeger of Brooklyn and Joseph Borelli of Staten Island are working alongside Holden to create the caucus.

Queens Council Member James Gennaro has also been named as a potential caucus member in published reports, though Holden declined to provide names of members who may join.

The moderate caucus would provide a direct counter to the Council’s progressive caucus, which was formed in 2009 and currently has 20 members. The Council’s other five caucuses are the Black, Asian and Latino caucus; the Irish caucus; the Jewish caucus; the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender caucus; and the women’s caucus.

Holden said he hoped to form the Common Sense caucus four years ago but didn’t have support from the council leadership.

This time around, Holden said there’s growing momentum for more moderate politics because “people are fed up”.

“People see that the city is out of control under de Blasio’s socialist positions,” Holden said. “We need to go back to the center.”

Holden has been an outspoken supporter of the NYPD and has been a harsh critic of the defund the police movement. He has attended several Back the Blue rallies in support of cops, including one in Sunnyside in 2020. He was the only elected official to attend that rally.

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