EDITORIAL
JUNE PRIMARY
TURNS INTO A
TOTAL SNAFU
Through a series of bad decisions and unforced errors,
the state Board of Elections and Governor
Andrew Cuomo have turned the June 23 primary
into an utter farce.
The primary, of course, is still on, coronavirus be
damned. There will be party primary races for statewide
and Congressional seats. You don’t even have to
leave your house to vote; you will be able to request an
absentee ballot.
That’s the good news about the contest. Everything
else about it is an absolute mess.
Let’s start with the cancellation of the Democratic
presidential primary. Yes, the race effectively ended
back on April 8 when Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
dropped out of the running, leaving former Vice President
Joe Biden the last candidate standing — and the
party’s presumptive nominee.
The coronavirus pandemic forced the state to first delay
the primary from April 28 to June 23. After Sanders
suspended his campaign, the primary was seen by some
— including, apparently the state Board of Elections —
as a moot point. That led to the board’s decision on April
27 to cancel the Democratic presidential primary.
That riled up Sanders supporters at a time when
Biden’s still trying to get their support. This decision
throws a bit of a monkey wrench into the Democrats’
cause long-term, as it fuels the belief among many
Sanders supporters that “the machine” is out to squash
them.
That wasn’t the only June contest thrown into chaos.
Cuomo canceled special elections for Queens borough
president and several other city and state legislative
vacancies which were initially scheduled for March
24 but ultimately delayed due to COVID-19. The parties
will hold primaries for these seats instead on June 23,
with the winners advancing to the November election.
But by then, some of these vacant legislative seats
will have been empty for nearly a year before voters
choose the people to represent them in government.
The pandemic in New York state is the very definition
of the term snafu, an infamous military acronym
meaning “Situation Normal: All Fouled Up.”
The June 23 primary is a snafu within the snafu —
and one that could’ve been completely avoided had the
Board of Elections and Cuomo thought more of the voters
and less about politics.
HOW TO REACH US
TIMESLEDGER | 16 QNS.COM | MAY 1-MAY 7, 2020
All voters should vote via an absentee ballot for the June primaries. Photo via Getty Images
Attention healthcare workers:
Tell us your coronavirus stories
As the coronavirus epidemic
rages on across New York City,
we want to hear from the health
care workers on the front lines
battling to save lives.
Our reporters want to speak
with health care workers about
what they’ve witnessed in emergency
rooms, medical centers,
nursing homes and other facilities
where lives hang in the balance
every day. We want to tell
their stories to show New York
City their courage but also the severity
of the conditions they work
in — and the situation they face.
We welcome submissions at
any time from active New York
City physicians, nurses, lab technicians
and other health care
workers who are helping to treat
patients.
Email Editor-in-Chief Zach
Gewelb at zgewelb@schnepsmedia.
com, and a reporter may contact
you soon. Your information
will be held confidentially; your
name will be used only with your
express permission, or withheld
upon request.
By submitting, you understand
that the content must not be false,
defamatory, misleading or hateful,
or infringe any copyright or
any other third party rights or otherwise
be unlawful.
We will use the contact details
that you provide to verify your
identity and answers to the questionnaire,
as well as to contact
you for further information on this
story. If we publish your content,
we may include your name and
location.
PROUD MEMBER OF NEW YORK PRESS ASSOCIATION
PUBLISHER
Brian Rice
EDITOR
Zach Gewelb
V.P. OF ADVERTISING
Ralph D’onofrio
CIRCULATION
Robert Palacios
CLASSIFIED
Classified Director:
Celeste Alamin
Classified Sales
Manager:
Eugena Pechenaya
EDITORIAL STAFF
Reporters: Bill Parry, Angelica
Acevedo, Carlotta Mohamed,
Jenna Bagcal, Jacob Kaye
Copy Editor: Katrina Medoff
Contributing Writers/Columnists:
Tammy Scileppi
ART & PRODUCTION
Production Manager:
Deborah Cusick
Art Director: Nirmal Singh
Layout: Zach Gewelb
ADVERTISING
Senior Account Executive:
Kathy Wenk
Account Executives:
David Strauss
Sherri Rossi
MAIL: 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY 11361
PHONE: Display Advertising: (718) 260-4537
Editorial: (718) 260-4549
WEBSITE: Visit www.qns.com
E-MAIL: Editorial: timesledgernews@schnepsmedia.com
Display Advertising: brice@schnepsmedia.com
Classified: classified@schnepsmedia.com
TO SUBSCRIBE: Call (718) 260-2515
Copyright©2019 Queens CNG LLC.