Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry retiring, opening door for ex-con state pol to return

After over three decades in the state legislature, Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D-Corona) is calling it quits — opening the door for a potential return to state politics for ex-con state Senator Hiram Monserrate.

The disgraced pol, who was elected last year as a democratic district leader, hinted to the Post that he would run for the now empty seat, which he failed to previously to win from Aubry in an earlier bid to return to Albany.

“We will be announcing shortly,” he said Tuesday.

Aubry, who also regularly presides over the Assembly chamber as speaker pro tempore, was first elected to the Assembly in 1992.

In 2009, Monserrate was convicted of a misdemeanor assault charge involving his ex-girlfriend, Karen Giraldo.

That charge later led him to be expelled from the state Senate in 2010.

Later that year, Monserrate was indicted on corruption charges related to misappropriating public funds earmarked for a not-for-profit group during his time as a city councilman.

He pleaded guilty in 2012 and was locked up for almost two years in federal prison.

Moserrate has since staged several comeback attempts for elected office, the most recent of which was a failed bid against Aubry last year.

But in 2018, Monserrate made a partial comeback – getting elected as a Democratic district leader. He was re-elected to that post in 2020 and 2022.

In the past, the Queens Democratic Party establishment and influential labor unions backed Aubry and Councilman Francisco Moya, a former state assemblyman, over the ex-con insurgent Monserrate.

Aubry himself was quick to endorse another Queens district leader, Larinda Hooks, who is also announcing a bid for the 35th district seat.

Hooks is Director of Senior Services at Elmcor Youth and Adult Activities, a former employer of Aubry’s.

Sources close to Monserrate believe he has a better shot at winning an open seat not occupied by an incumbent.

The district is now 60% Hispanic.