QW07142019 - Page 4

4 QUEENS WEEKLY, JULY 14, 2019 JORDAN’S RETAIL MARKET LOBSTERS 3 $39 FOR �� 1 1/4�� (other sizes available) �� Prices are dictated by fi shing conditions & subject to change without notice. (Across From The UA Movies & TGI Fridays) Corner of 2771 Knapp St. & Belt Parkway Knapp St. Exit 9 or 9a Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, GPS: 3165 Harkness Ave. �� ZAGAT RATED EXCELLENT FREE�� PARKING ��OPEN 7 DAYS !"#$%"&!' ( No Nov. WFP line for Cabán in DA election Tiffany Cabán on the campaign trail earlier this year. Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS BY MARK HALLUM Since March, the Working Families Party has backed Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney and offered the resources for her to become a front-runner in the months leading up to the primary and well beyond. But they may not have done enough to ensure her campaign survives to November if she does not come out ahead of Borough President Melinda Katz in the still-undecided Democratic primary — now in the midst of an automatic recount. Contrary to the expectations of many with knowledge of the WFP’s history, Cabán will not appear on their ballot line in the general election, making the Board of Elections recount and court hearing a sudden death round in the most competitive Queens DA race in more than a generation. According to a Working Families Party source, the organization was faced with a decision: either devote scarce resources to petitioning to add Cabán to the general election ballot, or commit those resources to a singular and aggressive Democratic primary run with no safety net. Had the WFP given Cabán their party nomination, it would have guaranteed the progressive public defender a ballot spot in the November general election, regardless of the Democratic primary outcome — and potentially set up an even more contentious battle between Cabán and Katz, should the borough president wind up winning the primary. Katz now holds a 16- vote lead over Cabán in the Democratic DA primary, for which an automatic manual recount started on July 9. In all, the WFP provided $250,000 to Cabán’s campaign and devoted “thousands of hours of staff time,” according to a memo obtained by QNS. “We knew this one was always going to be a Davidand Goliath struggle. But it’s part of the WFP’s mandate, in New York and nationwide, to transform our broken system of criminal justice and end mass incarceration,” the memo read. “Tiffany’s run is also the latest sign of how the community groups, labor unions, and grassroots activists who make up the WFP are changing the balance of power in our city and our state. We defeated the IDC, which led to a realignment in Albany that returned power to the people. We helped elect tenant organizer and criminal justice reformer Jumaane Williams as New York City Public Advocate. And with the Cabán campaign, we’re part of a movement that is transforming Queens.” Politicians as well as parties such as the WFP have looked to alternate ballot lines as a fail-safe for tough races. In 2018, for example, then-state Senator Tony Avella lost the Democratic primary to John Liu, but was on the Reform Party line in the general and continued to put up a fight for his northeast Queens seat (he was unsuccessful). In the 2017 Democratic primary, then- Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley defeated challenger Robert Holden in the general. Holden, however, pressed on with two third-party lines that he secured. He wound up defeating Crowley in November, thanks in large part to securing the Republican voting line in September of that year. The use of fusion voting and using place holders are not unique tactics in New York where closed primaries can translate as untapped votes to hopefuls.