Primary challenge for Queens congressman

State senator James Sanders (D-South Ozone Park) is targeting a run at Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-St. Albans) 5th district house seat in the 2016 primary.

Sanders has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission beginning the process for a potential election in June of 2016. The committee listed in the FEC filing was Sanders for Congress Inc.

Officials from Sanders’s office said they would not be releasing a statement at this time due to the recent death of Rep. Meeks’s father.

Meeks, a 17-year veteran of the House, has been linked to various scandals over the years involving receiving favorable loan rates as well as failing to make financial disclosures, but he has never been accused of a crime.

While largely representing areas in Queens, the 5th district also covers most of Elmont, South Floral Park, North Valley Stream and Inwood.

Sanders was a long time member of the New York City Council, holding the post for ten years before running for state senator in 2012. Sanders defeated the incumbent Shirley Huntley, who was later convicted of embezzling nearly $90,000 from a publicly funded non-profit that she oversaw.

Sanders, along with fellow state elected officials including Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages (D-Valley Stream) wrote a letter to Rep. Meeks in April advising him to flip his stance and oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement supported by the Obama administration.

The congressman’s office did not respond to calls for a comment on the primary challenge.