Brooklyn GOP Lincoln Day Gala 2026 Opening Svetlana Zelenskaya, Lester Chang. Liam McCabe

The First Annual Brooklyn GOP Lincoln Gala, an event celebrating the New York State GOP candidates and Republican elected officials.
The evening features several key segments, including the national anthem performed by opera singer Tenner Becca (0:48–2:31), followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Deacon Anthony Nami, a US Army veteran (3:01–3:34).
The event also includes remarks from various speakers: Lester Chang – Assembly ( District 49) (4:10–4:30), a Navy veteran, is introduced for his surprising upset victory in a previous election.
The newly elected Brooklyn GOP party chair, Liam McCabe (4:52), delivers a speech, thanking various individuals and groups. Liam McCabe’s speech highlights his personal connection to the Conservative Party (10:27–11:05) and his appreciation for his wife, Christine Sisto, for her support (11:24–12:11).
He also emphasizes the significance of Brooklyn’s history (12:26–13:17), particularly its role in the American Revolution and its connection to Abraham Lincoln’s legacy (13:17–14:09), drawing parallels between Lincoln’s struggles and the challenges faced by current candidates (14:12–14:45).
The gala concludes with a thank you to attendees for a “wonderful turnout” (14:47–15:00).

It’s your time here at OP. Thank you all so much for coming. Welcome to the first annual Brooklyn GOP Lincoln Gala. Everybody, please take your seats and pay attention.

To start our evening, I have the pleasure and the honor to introduce the chair of the Brooklyn GOP. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand. Prepare yourselves for the National Anthem. I’d like to introduce our singer, tenor Becca.

[National Anthem – performance]

Thank you very much. That’s an opera singer. Yes—thank you. One more round of applause.

Good evening again. My name is Vito LaBella, and I am your MC for the evening. Somebody asked me how I got this job, and I told them: everybody else said no—so here we are.

Now I’d like to introduce a very fine man: Deacon Anthony Nami, a U.S. Army veteran with 32 years of service, and a veteran of Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Operation Enduring Freedom, who will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Pledge of Allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. Thank you, Deacon.

Tonight we celebrate our honored guests: the New York State GOP candidates and the hardworking Republican elected officials fighting for our communities.

To kick off our remarks, please join me in welcoming another fine veteran—a Navy veteran—someone who, four years ago, like Rocky Balboa, shocked the world by upsetting one of the longest-serving members of the Assembly. Right here, right now: Assemblyman Lester Chang.

Thank you very much. Thank you for the introduction, and thank you all for this first annual Brooklyn Republican Party event. And now, I will introduce our newly elected Brooklyn GOP party chair.

Yay!

Thank you. All right— I think we’re supposed to begin… we’re going to be doing a prayer, correct? No? After? Got it. Okay. I have a lot of notes here, so please take your seats. You guys are going to be up here for a little bit.

I have a lot of people to thank, so bear with me. And if I leave anybody out, it’s Vito’s fault—I told him I’d throw him under the bus.

All right. Thank you, everyone— and a special thanks to all of you, our elected officials. Brooklyn is in the house tonight. The state is also in the house tonight. We have a lot of elected officials here, and one particular non-elected official I’d like to thank: JMS Printing. They saved the day. Our flash drive— they were able to get our images on the screen. Thank you very much.

We’ve got Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis here. We’ve got New York State Senator Steve Chan here. We’ve got Assemblyman Michael Novakhov—he’s on his way; they have their county convention tonight, so he’s coming. We have City Council Minority Leader David Carr. And a shout-out to Councilman Peter Abate, who unfortunately had oral surgery and couldn’t make it.

We also have former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. We have former New York State Senator Marty Golden.

Marty Golden was a big supporter of mine in the chair race. I ran for office twice. I ran for City Council, and I didn’t have money in that race, and I lost. This time I won. So the lesson is: run when you can.

We have former Corrections and DSNY Commissioner Louis Molina.

We also have our candidates: New York State Attorney General candidate Saritha Komatireddy; New York State candidate Joe Hernandez; and Nassau County Executive candidate Bruce Blakeman.

I want to recognize all our political clubs and presidents: the Brooklyn New Coalition; the New York Young Republican Club; and others here tonight, including the Donald J. Trump America First club; the Republican 42nd Club; and many community clubs and district leaders.

I’ve got to mention our district leaders: in the 41st; the 42nd; the 43rd; the 44th; the 45th; the 46th; the 47th; the 48th; the 49th; the 50th; the 51st; the 52nd; the 53rd; the 54th; the 55th; the 56th; the 57th; the 58th; the 59th; and beyond. We also have some candidates here tonight as well.

We also have party leaders here, and some are running late: former chairman and former state senator Bob Duffy, and other former Brooklyn GOP chairs and leaders.

But I would be remiss if I did not mention my good friends in the Conservative Party. We have the state chairman of the Conservative Party, Jerry Kassar, and the county chairperson.

It’s very special to me that they’re here because I got my start in the Conservative Party. I got my start working in a liquor store in Bay Ridge. Rest in peace, Mike—he was the person who told me, “You’ve got to find Jerry Kassar, and you’ve got to find Marty Golden. Get involved in his campaign,” and the rest is history.

I spent many years as a member of the Conservative Party and learned a lot from their leadership. Thank you for coming.

Now, please—if I can have your attention—this is important. Everyone’s attention, please. This is very important. Please, please, please.

I want to say my favorite conservative is my wife, Christine. She is here today.

Let me say: we met on the campaign—on the Mike (campaign). By the way, he sends his regrets. He promises he’s going to come to the next event, and he’s going to make it.

I met my wife Christine on that campaign, and I want to say something about what politics does. Politics exists on campaigns, but it also exists in the absences—and my wife and my family have to deal with that absence. I just want to say: I love you, Christine. I love everything you do for our family. And when I’m not there—when I’m at all these functions—you hold it up for us. Thank you, and I love you.

My wife made these nice cups. These are made from seats from Dodger Stadium. My wife wrote her thesis about the Dodgers. Brooklyn is a very big part of my life—part of our story. When we got married, we got married in Red Hook, and we set up the tables so that every table was a neighborhood. We love Brooklyn, and we love Red Hook.

I also want to tell you something many of you may not know: I’m with FDNY, and the place where my ambulance is stationed is right along the waterfront in Red Hook. I can see the Statue of Liberty. I can see the towers. I can see the bridge. And sometimes, when I get a chance at night, everything stops, and I can listen and reflect on great stories—stories about American history, and about the part Brooklyn played in American history.

Right along the waterfront is where Washington’s forces escaped the British, and that led to them surviving and eventually winning the Revolution.

I also think of Lincoln—excuse me—and I just want to say this: I think of Lincoln. I close my eyes and think about that harbor—the harbor Lincoln crossed on his way to Cooper Union. That speech really defined his presidency and helped make him President of the United States. That speech was actually supposed to be in Brooklyn Heights, but it wasn’t—they switched it over to Cooper Union.

Hopefully tonight we can channel Abraham Lincoln and his message of perseverance—his message to hold on—and understand the lessons we can learn from him.

And much like Lincoln’s struggles, many of the people behind me—these candidates, these elected officials—face their own battles. In some cases, especially with Bruce Blakeman: he lost and lost many times before he eventually succeeded and achieved the phenomenal success he has had in Nassau County.

To this day, our country is still facing Democrats engaged in lawfare against us. And everyone behind me has faced those odds—but we will persevere.

Tonight, I want to thank you all. We’re going to have a wonderful program. I’m humbled by the support. Let’s give everyone here a round of applause for a wonderful turnout. Thank you guys very much—let’s give a big round of applause.

February 12, 2026 El Caribe Country Club 5013 Strickland Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11234, USA

Part 2