Richards holds early lead in BP race
were encouraged
to vote by absentee ballot this
election cycle because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The city’s
Board of Elections won’t begin
to count absentee ballots until
Activists call for justice, encourage residents to
vote during Election Day protest in Jackson Heights
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 26-JULY 2, 2020 3
BY JACOB KAYE
A group of activists and demonstrators
gathered in Jackson Heights Tuesday
to call for an end to police brutality
against Black and brown people, while
also encouraging the community to get
out and vote on what is likely to be one
of the more unusual and complicated
primary days in recent history.
Organized by the group Justice for
George Queens, the demonstration of
about 40 people gathered in Diversity
Plaza around 11 a.m., on Tuesday, June
23.
Aided by The Blue Angels Drumline,
a band composed of young Christian
Black men, demonstrators gave
speeches about the history of voting
and the plight of undocumented immigrants
in the United States.
The demonstration began with a
reading of names of people who have
died in U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) border camps. Protesters
took a knee as the names were
read out loud.
As the rally continued, people from
the surrounding community joined
the demonstration.
Activists encouraged everyone to
vote and handed out literature that
contained information about polling
sites in Woodside, Corona and
Jackson Heights. Justice for George
Queens, which has not endorsed any
candidates as an organization, also
distributed papers that listed the
candidates running in several local
races.
Additional reporting by Dean
Moses.
BY JACOB KAYE
While the Democratic nominee
for Queens borough president
won’t likely be set in stone
until next week, Councilman
Donovan Richards holds the
lead in the five-way race with
about 96 percent of scanners reported.
Former Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley trailed behind
a close second most of the
night, even taking the lead at
times. Councilman Costa Constantinides
and retired NYPD
Sergeant Anthony Miranda
held about 15 percent of the vote
each as the numbers trickled in
throughout the evening. Businessman
Dao Yin holds the fewest
votes of the five candidates.
“I’m encouraged by the results
coming in for our campaign
for Queens Borough President
and I want to thank all of
my supporters who came out
yesterday to make their voices
heard,” Richards said in a statement
Wednesday morning. “I
commend my competitors for
running a good race that put the
issues affecting our borough at
the forefront of the campaign.
While we want to ensure that every
vote is counted, I’m looking
forward to the race in November
and ultimately serving all
of our communities as Queens
Borough President.”
Constantinides held a virtual
election night party Tuesday
night. On the call, the candidate
thanked all his supporters,
and said he’s recovering well
from previously contracting
COVID-19, which he said kept
him from protesting in the last
few weeks during the Black
Lives Matter demonstrations.
But as a councilman, he said
he’s “been voting.”
“Queens deserves more.
We deserve a deputy borough
president for sustainability and
resiliency. We deserve solarized
and green roofs for every building
in Queens. We need to act
on climate change with the urgency
that it needs. We need to
invest in our hospital system,”
Constantinides said. “We spent
a lot of money. We were outspent
by our two major opponents, but
I had the one thing that they
didn’t have — we had people.
And I’m so grateful to each and
every one of our volunteers.
Queens is the most diverse place
in the world, but we can do so
much more here.”
The Queens borough president’s
race has been ever evolving,
beginning with former Borough
President Melinda Katz’s
election to Queens district attorney
in November 2019.
A special election was
scheduled for late March but
was then postponed to June
23 as COVID-19 ravaged the
borough and city.
Soon after the postponement,
the election was canceled
outright. The winner of the special
election was only to serve
until the end of the year.
The winner of Tuesday’s
race will face off against
Queens County Republican
Chairwoman Joann Ariola
in the November general
election.
Results of Tuesday’s primary,
including the Queens
borough president’s race,
will likely not be known for
some time, as thousands upon
thousands of absentee ballots
have yet to counted.
Voters were encouraged to
vote by absentee ballot this election
cycle because of the COVID-
19 pandemic. The city’s Board of
Elections won’t begin to count
absentee ballots until June 30.
City Councilman Donovan Richards QNS fi le photo
Photo by Dean Moses
/QNS.COM
