Her victorious rival, City Councilmember José Serrano, campaigned vigorously with the support of the City's leading Democratic lights. In appearances on the Island, Serrano was accompanied once by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and another time by Assemblymember Pete Grannis, who made little secret of his distaste for working with Mendez, even when she was a fellow Democrat.

With Grannis, Mendez came to support an Island movement for an elected Board of Directors for the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, once telling Governor George Pataki, "It's an idea whose time has come." Instead, in 2002, Pataki staff altered the Grannis-Mendez proposal to put a majority of appointed Island residents on the Board, and rechristened it the Roosevelt Island Open Spaces bill. A key provision of that law is the source of contention over whether the Octagon Apartments project can be built (see lead story, above).

Serrano, the son of Rep. José E. Serrano, who represents Congressional District 16 in the Bronx, is a two-term member of the City Council. During his appearances on Roosevelt Island, Serrano and his supporters criticized Mendez for leaving the Democratic Party to become an even closer ally of her friend, the Governor. Serrano said that Senate Republicans in Albany, along with the Governor, are responsible for denying much of the support needed by New York City.

His victory is part of a push by Democrats to take over the Senate. When he announced, a dozen prominent Democrats appeared with him. With other victories in Tuesday's balloting, Democrats are now within three or four seats of controlling the Senate, likely to be the subject of an intense effort in two years when the governor's office is also up for grabs.

Serrano chairs the City Council Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations. He received his B.A. in government from Manhattan College, and worked for the New York Shakespeare Festival.