Daily News from New York, New York • 263

DM CITY COUNCIL I3w2iL. rr 5 MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT kq1 odd fiw Ban By PAUL SCHWARTZMAN i v- i Y' "Hi sj I I 7 (Xysters 0. Daly News Staff Writer Queens Councilman Alfonso Stabile burst to an early lead last night in his quest to win reelection over the son of former Rep. Joseph Addabbo. With 17 of the vote count ed.

Stabile led, 57 to 43, over Joseph Addabbo Jr. in one of a handful of closely' watched Council races. A total of 10 incumbents are leaving the 51-member Council, including the Bronx Michael DeMarco, the most sen- ior member; Harlem's Virginia Fields, who was elected Manhattan borough president, and Brooklyn's Enoch Williams, who is retiring. In the eastern Bronx, Madeline Provenzano was on her way to succeeding DeMarco, whom she has served as chief of staff for more than a decade. DeMarco is expected to become a state Supreme Court justice.

With a third of the vote counted, Provenzano led Re publican Reynaldo Solano, 59 to 39. Solano had hoped to capitalize on his alliance with Mayor Giuliani, with whom he campaigned. In Brooklyn, Republican Martin Golden and Democrat Joanne Seminara were embroiled in a race to succeed Democrat Sal Albanese. With 58 of the vote counted, Golden led Seminara, 58 to 42. In another hotly contested race, Manhattan Councilman Andrew Eristoff appeared to fend off challenger Eva Moskowitz, leading 64 to 36 in early returns.

Besides incumbency, Eristoff had fund-raising advantages, pulling in $300,000 from 1 supporters more than twice that raised by Moskowitz. During the campaign, Moskowitz tried to portray Eristoff as using his money to avoid questions about his record. Eristoff, whose contribution list included names like Rockefeller and Frick, coun- tered that his average contribution was considerably below $200. In another closely watched Queens race, incumbent Julia Harrison of Flushing was easily reelected, receiving 66 of the vote. She defeated Republican Chun Soo Pyun, independent Ethel Chen and Conservative Pauline Chu.

Last year, Harrison infuriated many in Flushing's large Asian community by referring to Asian immigrants as "colo CONVENTION N.Y. gov't reform's a big bust By JON R. SORENSEN Daily News Albany Bureau Chtef Voters rejected a proposal to reform state government by rewriting the state Constitution, early returns showed last night Most government reformers had opposed holding a constitutional convention, arguing it could make New York's frequently dysfunctional government even worse. "This was very, very unknown barely a blip on the radar screen" for voters throughout the state, said Lee Miringoff, polling director for Mar-ist College. "That magni- fied the importance of any kind of positive or negative campaigning." There was far more organized opposition to a convention than support for it, although former Democratic Gov.

Mario Cuomo and the man who defeated him. Republican Gov. Pataki, backed the proposal. The state Conservative Party, the National Organization for Women and tenant groups joined labor unions and the state's legislative leaders in urging a no vote. Opponents spent more than $1 million, compared with $300,000 by supporters for upstateiradio ads.

Opposition ads warned that a convention could cost as much as $60 million and be dominated by political insiders. The state Constitution gives voters a chance to call a convention every 20 years. With 30 of precincts reporting, the convention was losing 61 to 39. VIRGINIA FIELDS looks like a winner as she leaves Manhattan polling place yesterday. She took commanding lead early over Abe Hirschfeld in lopsided race for Manhattan borough president.

Don aoiiIjDS'iiSsiOLir; pDoDefe. Ui -J well as labor unions. Throughout the campaign, she emphasized her ties to the civil tights movement, telling voters how she had marched as a teenager with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Hirschfeld, 78, a millionaire real estate developer known for his eccentricities, infuriated Mario Cuomo in the last days of the campaign by including a photograph of the former governor in his ads.

It didn't matter. Fields won a hotly contested primary battle, defeating several City Councilmen Antonio Pagan and Adam Clayton Powell 4th and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick. Fields succeeds Ruth Mes-singer, who was elected borough president in 1990. In the city's other boroughs, incumbents Fernan-i do Ferrer of the Bronx, Claire Shulman of Queens, Howard Golden of Brooklyn and Guy Molinari of Staten Island were easily cruising to reelection, as Virginia Fields was expected to win as Manhattan borough president last night, easily sweeping past challenger Abe Hirschfeld. In early returns, she was leading Hirschfeld 76 to 20.

Fields, 52, who has represented Harlem in the City Council since 1990, becomes the city's highest-ranking black elected official. A former social worker, Fields received support from former Mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch, as i nizers. i.