From The New York Times:

During a forum in Jackson Heights, Queens, last Thursday, candidates for a vacant State Senate seat were given a chance to question one another. One of them, Hiram Monserrate, addressed his leading opponent, José R. Peralta, as “José.” Mr. Peralta addressed him as “Mr. Monserrate.”

That formality underscores a change in the relationship between two men who once called each other “brother.” That, of course, was before Mr. Monserrate’s expulsion from the State Senate last month, after his conviction of misdemeanor domestic assault. Mr. Peralta and Mr. Monserrate are Latino, like a majority of people in the district. Each has also been the Queens Democratic Party’s golden child at some point. But these days, that is where their similarities end.

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