Monserrate Explains His Obama-Like Logo: It's Not An 'O,' It's A 'Q'

Former New York state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, a former Democrat who is now running under his own "Yes We Can" party, has taken heat from the Democratic National Committee for appropriating President Obama's campaign logo and splashing it over his web site.

Yesterday, Monserrate officially announced his candidacy in a special election, an election called after Monserrate was expelled from the senate last month over a misdemeanor conviction for assaulting his girlfriend in 2008.

Yesterday he also addressed the logo, which the DNC has told him to stop using. His version is black and yellow instead of red, white and blue, and has been changed slightly to look like a Q.

"This logo is similar to the slogan that they used, but slightly different, because the logo actually is a Q, which stands for the great borough of Queens. If folks had really analyzed it, they would have seen it," Monserrate said, according to News 10 Now.

A spokesman for the DNC told TPM yesterday that they were still waiting to hear from Monserrate.

He has also been called out for using old campaign videos of people who no longer support him. On his web site is a two-year-old video featuring an endorsement from immigration activist Bryan Pu-Folkes.

Pu-Folkes sent a statement to the New York Observer yesterday calling Monserrate "part of the problem" in Albany.

"In light of multiple transgressions, Hiram Monserrate is not in a position to effectively and honorably represent our communities. We are facing an unprecedented fiscal and ethical crisis in Albany and we need leaders who will be the solution and not part of the problem," he said. Pu-Folkes is running for a state assembly seat now held by Jose Peralta, who is Monserrate's Democratic opponent in the special election.

Some supporters say Monserrate was expelled not for his conviction, but because he briefly switched to the Republican party last summer in a coup which brought the legislature in Albany to a standstill.