FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
Here’s who’s on the ballot in Queens for the Sept. 13 primaries
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Th e all-important statewide primaries
on Th ursday, Sept. 13 will allow Queens
voters in both major parties to help determine
the future of New York’s government.
Polls are open next Th ursday, Sept. 13,
from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Th e state primaries
were pushed back from a traditional
Tuesday date this year due to Rosh
Hashanah and the 17th anniversary of the
9/11 terrorist attacks.
Democrats have the overwhelming
majority of key primary races, headlined
by the gubernatorial primary. Governor
Andrew Cuomo seeks his third term in
offi ce against actress and political activist
Cynthia Nixon; the heated primary battle
featured one particularly eventful debate
between the candidates on Aug. 29. You
can watch a replay of it on WCBS-TV’s
website.
Two other statewide primary races are
also on the Democratic ballot: the lieutenant
gubernatorial contest between
incumbent Lieutenant Governor Kathy
Hochul and Brooklyn Councilman
Jumaane Williams; and a four-way attorney
general race between New York City
Public Advocate Letitia James, upstate
Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney,
political activist and law professor Zephyr
Teachout of upstate Saatsburg, and attorney
Leecia Eve of Manhattan. (Th e candidates
debated on NY1 News on Aug. 28.)
Republican voters won’t have statewide
primaries, as their candidates for governor
(Dutchess County Executive Marc
Molinaro), lieutenant governor (former
Rye Deputy Mayor Julie Killian) and
attorney general (Manhattan lawyer and
entrepreneur Keith Woff ord) have been
set. On Nov. 6, they’ll face the winners of
the statewide Democratic primaries.
However, Republicans in two Queens
State Senate districts will go to the polls
on Sept. 13 to choose their candidates for
the offi ce.
Th e 11th Senatorial District primary
features two candidates making their fi rst
runs for elected offi ce: Simon Minching,
a Little Neck resident who works at a
private soft ware and services company
who has the endorsement of the Queens
County Republican Party; and Vickie
Paladino, a Whitestone resident who ran
a landscaping business with her husband
and gained notoriety last year for yelling
at Mayor Bill de Blasio during his visit to
the neighborhood, a confrontation that
was videoed and went viral online.
Th e winner of that contest will face the
victor in the Democratic 11th Senatorial
District primary between incumbent
state Senator Tony Avella, who’s seeking
his fi ft h term in Albany, against former
Councilman and City Comptroller
John Liu.
Th e 11th District covers much of northeast
Queens, including parts of Bayside,
Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston,
Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks,
Jamaica Estates, Little Neck and
Whitestone.
In south Queens, Republicans will
also choose their nominee for the
15th Senatorial District seat between
Th omas Sullivan, a Breezy Point resident
and business owner who also has
the Queens County GOP’s backing, and
Slawomir Platta, an attorney from Middle
Village. Th e winner will face incumbent
Democratic state Senator Joseph
Addabbo for the right to represent the
15th District, which stretches across
southwestern Queens from Ridgewood to
the Rockaway Peninsula.
Th e rest of the key statewide primary
races in Queens all involve the
Democratic party, and a few of them are
real barnburners.
State Senator Jose Peralta, who represents
the 13th Senatorial District, is facing
a fi erce challenge from Jessica Ramos,
a former aide to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Peralta and Ramos, both Jackson Heights
residents, went at it in a lively QNS
Facebook Live debate and have been sparring
for months over myriad issues, particularly
Peralta’s former affi liation with
the Independent Democratic Conference
(IDC) in the state Senate.
Th e 13th District focuses on the northwestern
Queens neighborhoods, including
parts of Astoria, Corona, East
Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and
Woodside.
Three Democratic assembly primaries
are also on the Sept. 13 ballot.
Headlining those contests is the 39th
Assembly District race between incumbent
Assemblywoman Ari Espinal, a
Corona resident who won the offi ce in
an April special election, and two challengers:
Catalina Cruz, a Jackson Heights
attorney and civic activist; and Yonel
Letellier Sosa, a former political aide from
Elmhurst.
Th e 39th District covers parts of
Corona, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and
Woodside.
In the neighboring 30th Assembly
District, two Woodside residents are
squaring off : incumbent Assemblyman
Brian Barnwell and activist Melissa
Sklarz. Barnwell is seeking his second
term in Albany aft er knocking off longtime
Assemblywoman Margaret Markey
in a primary upset two years ago, while
Sklarz is looking to make history as the
fi rst transgender person elected to the
state Assembly.
Th e 30th District includes areas of
Astoria, Elmhurst, Long Island City,
Maspeth, Middle Village, Sunnyside and
Woodside.
Finally, Democrats in the 33rd
Assembly District in southeast Queens
will choose between two Cambria Heights
candidates: incumbent Assemblyman
Clyde Vanel, who’s also seeking his second
term in offi ce, and civic activist Oster
Bryan. Th e 33rd District covers the neighborhoods
of Bellerose Manor, Cambria
Heights, Hollis, Queens Village and St.
Albans.
In New York state, primary elections
are restricted to registered members of
a given party. Registered Democrats can
participate in the Democratic primary;
registered Republicans can participate in
the Republican primary. Registered independent,
unaffi liated or third-party voters
cannot participate in either primary.
For additional information on the Sept.
13 primary, visit vote.nyc.ny.us or call
212-VOTE-NYC.
primary 2018
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