Queens borough president candidates
react to cancellation of special election
Costa Constantinides, Donovan Richards, Jim Quinn, Anthony Miranda, Elizabeth Crowley and Dao Yin are candidates for Queens Borough
President.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MAY 1-MAY 7, 2020 3
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
The special election for
Queens borough president has
been canceled, Gov. Andrew
Cuomo announced last week.
The election, which was originally
scheduled for March 24,
was postponed until June 23
before being canceled outright
by the state’s executive order in
an effort to fight the spread of
COVID-19.
While the special election
may be canceled, voters will
still have the opportunity to
vote for a Queens borough president
come June 23, when they’ll
vote in the primary leading up
to November’s general election.
It remains unclear which
candidates who ran in the canceled
special election will appear
on the primary ballot in
June. Those who do appear on
the ballot will be able to use contributions
and public funds they
received during the special election
campaign towards the June
primary and the November
general election, according to a
Board of Elections email sent to
the candidates and obtained by
QNS.
QNS reached out to Cuomo’s
office, the office of Mayor Bill
de Blasio and the Board of Elections
for clarification about the
decision to cancel the election
but did not receive a response.
The six candidates running
in the special election for
Queens borough president have
mixed reactions to the executive
order, with some expressing
their support and others
offering harsh criticism.
For Councilman Donovan
Richards, who’s backed by the
Queens Democratic Party, the
decision to cancel the special
election clears up some of the
confusion voters might have
around the election.
“The health of voters and
poll workers has always been
our primary concern for this
election. We also recognized
the need to educate voters on
the process and the method to
vote in the safest possible manner,”
Richards said. “This decision
should help to clarify that
process and limit confusion
on Election Day. Elections are
a crucial component of our democracy,
and I hope to see the
Board of Elections continue to
take steps to ensure safety when
we head to the polls.”
Others recognized the importance
of keeping people safe
while heading to the polls, but
acknowledged the importance of
looking forward for next steps.
“Though we are disappointed
more than 2,600 Queens residents
lost their voice after casting
a ballot during early voting,
it is all the more reason we must
safely make ourselves heard on
June 23rd,” a spokesperson for
Councilman Costa Constantinides
told QNS. “This crisis
has illustrated the dire need to
reform and strengthen our democracy,
so it remains intact
when the next challenge arises.
We are committed to fighting
for those solutions moving
forward.”
Constantinides previously
said Cuomo’s absentee ballot
order — which allows voters to
apply for an absentee ballot for
free — falls drastically short of
what’s needed during this crisis.
He added the state should
consider mail-in ballots to make
it easier for voters.
Elizabeth Crowley, the former
Ridgewood councilwoman,
was concerned about the added
confusion, but believed Cuomo’s
move for the special election is
“prudent.”
“The disruption to our elections
in New York from COVID-
19 has been deeply challenging.
The last thing we need is added
confusion.” Crowley told QNS.
“Having one election instead of
two in June for Queens borough
president is prudent. I have
been working hard throughout
the crisis to provide services
and relief for residents in need.
Asking voters for their support
is a solemn responsibility. This
is as true today as it ever was,
especially in the epicenter of the
pandemic.”
Crowley, whose platform
is for a fairer Queens, agrees
with absentee ballots.
But some candidates see the
cancellation of the race as an
illegal move by the governor to
retain control of the Democratic
Party and to stifle the will of the
voters.
Anthony Miranda, who positioned
himself as a political outsider
during his campaign, sees
this move as further evidence of
the Queens Democratic Party
exerting their control on power.
“What they’re doing is,
they’re empowering the Democratic
Party or the people that
are empowered, as opposed to
empowering voters,” Miranda
said. “This process almost
eliminates the ability to have a
fair and equitable playing field
to be able to get the message
out to voters in an even handed
manner.”
Then there’s former Assistant
District Attorney Jim
Quinn, who will no longer appear
on the ballot as he only
filed for the special election.
He’s considering challenging
the governor’s order in court.
“The voters of Queens have
been subjected to confusing,
vague and legally questionable
edicts surrounding this election
since the pandemic began,”
Quinn said in a statement. “This
outcome particularly disenfranchises
Republicans, Conservatives
and independents, who
have now been prohibited from
voting to elect their borough
president on June 23.”
Quinn, who ran on a platform
of law and order, said that while
the borough president was designed
to be a non-partisan election
to fill the position, Cuomo’s
action is “clearly” designed to
give an advantage to the Queens
Democratic Machine.
Dao Yin, a Queens businessman
running with a conservative
platform, was shocked
about Cuomo’s decision.
“Queens is struggling and
has been the hardest-hit borough
in the city, with nearly
50,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
This is not the time for
Cuomo’s political games,” Yin
said. “Cuomo is denying the voters
of Queens their right to representation
during these tragic
times. How can he disenfranchise
the entire borough, when
he was born and raised right
here in Queens?”
Yin’s campaign manager,
Aaron Foldenauer, also questioned
the legality of the order,
comparing it to a previous
case of Congressman Michael
Grimm in which a court ordered
Cuomo to set a special election
after Grimm vacated the seat.
“There are nearly 1.2 million
registered voters in Queens
but only approximately 750,000
of them are registered Democrats,”
Foldenauer said. “Thus,
approximately 450,000 voters
now have no voice as to the next
leader of Queens during these
difficult times.”
De Blasio danced around a
question about the Queens borough
president special election
when asked about Cuomo’s order
during a press conference
on Monday, April 27.
Instead, de Blasio said the
governor’s absentee ballot approach
was a step in the right
direction, and the cancellation
of the presidential primary was
understandable.
“In this crisis, to me, the first
question is health and safety. I
care deeply about the sanctity
of our elections, but the first
question is health and safety,”
de Blasio said. “I respect the decisions
that the state has made.
What I’m looking forward to is
getting through this recovery
the right way and getting our
whole society back to normal,
and having elections again as
an indicator of our Renaissance,
of our resurgence. But I think
that’s something that obviously
is going to happen in the fall, not
now.”
With additional reporting by
Bill Parry and Jacob Kaye.