O, no, you don’t!
Former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate is getting heat from President Obama’s grass-roots political organization for using the president’s well-worn logo and slogan in his bid to get his Queens seat back.
“Re-elect Senator Monserrate,” splashes the literature for the candidate, without mentioning that he’s no longer in office. “Special election March 16.”
Below it is the line, “Yes we can . . . Si se puede!”
“Yes we can!” was made famous by Obama during his two-year quest for the presidency.
But Organizing for America, the grassroots group that’s become the Obama arm of the Democratic National Committee, wants to stop Monserrate.
“The use of the logo is neither approved nor supported by Organizing for America. The campaign did not seek nor do they have permission to use it. We are asking them to remove it from their materials,” said a spokesman for Organizing for America in a statement first reported by Politico.
A Monserrate spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Post first reported recently that Monserrate had latched onto the slogan for himself.
Monserrate, a former NPYD cop and city councilman, was booted from the Senate on Feb. 9 by his colleagues following his conviction for misdemeanor assault on his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo.
He was charged with slashing her face with a broken glass and dragging her down the hallway and stairs to a hospital outside his district.
He was not convicted on the felony charge stemming from the slashing — which he maintained was an accident that happened when he tripped and fell while carrying a glass.
The case stretched on for months, roiling the Senate as Democrats held a razor-thin majority.
Monserrate was among the “four amigos” who staged a leadership coup that stalled the Senate for a month last summer.
He’s now running against Assemblyman José Peralta, who has the backing of the party establishment.
Monserrate petitioned his way onto the ballot and is hoping his high name recognition will vault him back into the Legislature.
Sources told The Post that Monserrate’s Plan B, should he lose, is to run for Peralta’s Assembly seat, which would be open.
“My sense is he’s going to be looking at another seat,” said one political consultant.
“He’s organized and has a disciplined organization behind him.”
Meanwhile, Monserrate is set to formally announce his candidacy today — at an event that was clumsily previewed by his own team.
“FORMER SENATOR HIRAM MONSERRATE UNVEILS PLAN AND OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY AFTER STABBING,” read the e-mail.
It was a reference to a violent incident in the district over the weekend.
But given the nature of Monserrate’s conviction, it seemed awkward.
Additional reporting by David Seifman