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Paladino on verge of big win in District 19 race
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | NOV. 12 - NOV. 18, 2021 15
BY BILL PARRY
Republicans appeared to
draw a line in the Rockaway
sand and fended off a progressive
onslaught to defend
the last GOP-held office in
Queens.
Republican Joann Ariola
leads Democrat Felicia Singh,
having secured nearly 67.5%
percent of the vote to Singh’s
to 31%, according to unofficial
results from the city’s Board
of Elections. Ariola, the chairwoman
of the Queens GOP and
a civic leader from Howard
Beach, would become the first
woman to represent District 32
in the City Council.
Absentee ballots must still
Republican Vickie Paladino thanks her supporters after defeating
Tony Avella in the District 19 race for City Council.
Photo courtesy of Paladino’s campaign
be counted, with the process
beginning next week.
Ariola celebrated her apparent
victory on the night
of Tuesday, Nov. 2, at Russo’s
on the Bay in Howard Beach,
where Councilman Eric Ulrich,
who has held the seat
since 2009, said he was happy
to pass the torch to the woman
he had endorsed to succeed
him.
District 32 comprises several
south Queens neighborhoods,
from Rockaway Park,
Belle Harbor and Breezy Point
to Howard Beach, Broad Channel,
Ozone Park, Woodhaven
and Richmond Hill.
Ariola first ran for public
office a quarter of a century
ago when she ran for the Assembly
but came up short. She
then ran for City Council in
2001 but lost to current state
Senator Joseph Addabbo. She
most recently ran in the special
election for Queens borough
president last year, and
now she will take her place in
the City Council.
“I know what my neighbors
want, as these election results
prove. They want safe streets,
clean parks, thriving businesses
and quality education,
and I’m going to fight for those
things in the Council,” Ariola
said.
Progressives turned out
in droves to support Singh,
an educator and daughter of
working-class immigrants,
who ran on a platform of education
and environmental issues,
supporting taxi drivers
and small businesses. She had
the support of the Working
Families Party and a coalition
of grassroots and labor organizations
including 32BJ and
District Council 37.
“With the results from last
night, it is clear I will not have
the honor of serving as the
council member of District
32,” Singh said Nov. 3.
Read more on QNS.com.
BY BILL PARRY
A Whitestone small business
owner is on the verge of upsetting
a career politician in a
northeast Queens City Council
race in an election night stunner.
Republican candidate Vickie
Paladino edged former state
Senator and Councilman Tony
Avella with nearly 50% of the
vote, with 99% of the scanners
reporting, to capture the District
19 seat on the City Council
held by term-limited Paul Vallone.
While Paladino is leading
in the race, according to the
city’s Board of Elections unofficial
results, absentee ballots
must be counted. The absentee
ballot count begins next week.
But Paladino is confident
she’ll emerge victorious.
“Tonight our district voted
for change, and I’m honored
to be the instrument of that
change,” said Paladino, after
celebrating with around
80 supporters and volunteers
crammed into her campaign office
on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
“We have a lot of work to
do, and I promise to deliver the
transparency and action we so
desperately need, fighting every
day for the issues most important
to our neighborhoods,”
Paladino said.
District 19 includes Bayside,
College Point, Whitestone,
Malba, Douglaston, Little Neck,
North Flushing and Auburndale.
Avella represented District
19 in the City Council from 2002
to 2009 before serving eight
years in the New York State
Senate. He defeated five other
Democrats in the primary, but
was out of politics for the last
two years after losing his 2018
re-election bid to state Senator
John Liu in the primary. Liu
defeated Paladino in that year’s
general election.
Avella has not conceded the
race.
“I want to thank all of my
supporters and volunteers
who worked tirelessly on our
campaign. I am proud of the
positive and issued-based campaign,”
Avella said Thursday.
“Although we are behind in
the count from Election Day,
we want to ensure that every
vote will be counted. Absentee
ballots are still arriving at the
Board of Elections and will be
added to the count to determine
the final vote.”
Paladino leads Avella by
1,653 votes, according to the latest
update from the city’s Board
of Elections.
“We ran a true grassroots
campaign here, and I’m so
proud of all my volunteers and
my campaign staff who worked
tirelessly to deliver this win
against all odds,” Paladino said.
A small business owner for
more than three decades and a
community activist, Paladino
was driven to run over the decline
of public safety and the
quality of life in her community.
She praised the support she
received during her campaign
from Guardian Angels founder
Curtis Sliwa, who was soundly
defeated by Mayor-elect Eric
Adams, who earned 66% of the
vote to Sliwa’s 29% with nearly
98% of scanners reporting, according
to the BOE.
“I also want to extend my
thanks to Curtis Sliwa for
his friendship and support
throughout this campaign.
Even though he wasn’t victorious
this time, I have no doubt
that he contributed immeasurably
to our success,” Paladino
said. “We are confident in our
victory, and look forward to
serving this community for
many years in the City Council.
There will be more statements
to come detailing our
transition and legislative
plans.”
Joann Ariola celebrates her victory over Felicia Singh with
Councilmen Robert Holden (l.) and Eric Ulrich (r.) on Nov. 2.
Photo courtesy of Kevin J. Ryan
Ariola takes commanding lead
over Singh in District 32 race
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