4 JUNE 27, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Cabán claims DA victory; Katz seeks count
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI AND MARK
HALLUM
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Just 1,100 votes separates public
defender Tiffany Cabán and
Borough President Melinda Katz
in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for
Queens district attorney.
With nearly all of the scanners
counted, Cabán clung to a narrow
lead as of 11 p.m. Tuesday night. While
Cabán declared victory in front of
her supporters, Katz declined to
concede, telling supporters at her
party that she would wait until all
the votes are counted.
NY1 reported that there are
about 3,400 paper ballots, including
absentee and affidavit ballots, to be
counted.
Seven candidates seeking to
succeed the late Queens District
Attorney Richard A. Brown were on
the ballot in the first meaningful
race for this office in nearly three
decades. The primary winner moves
on to the November general election
and will be the prohibitive favorite
to win in this heavily-Democratic
borough.
The candidates included Queens
Borough President Melinda Katz;
public defender Tiffany Cabán;
retired Judge Gregory Lasak; former
Civilian Complaint Review Board
Chair Mina Malik; and attorneys
Betty Lugo and Jose Nieves. City
Councilman Rory Lancman was on
the ballot even though he formally
dropped out of the race on June 21
and endorsed Katz.
The primary election held today
was marred by low turnout early,
according to reports from QNS
reporters who visited polling
stations this morning. The weather
improved during the afternoon
around Queens, and that may have
increased participation in the
waning hours of the election.
The 2018 victory of Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez is still reverberating
through Queens with no example
more clear than Tiffany Cabán
prevailing at the polls in Tuesday’s
primary for district attorney.
If the 31-year-old queer Latina can
replicate her success in the general
election, she will be the first new
DA in the borough in over 28 years,
succeeding the late Richard A.
Brown.
The majority of the precincts
had reported 39.6 of votes in favor
as Cabán celebrated with a mass of
supporters, including prominent
elected officials, at LaBoom in
Woodside. Her margin, however, is
slim. She’s up about 1,100 votes on
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz, who declined to concede and
is opting to wait until all the paper
ballots are counted.
”We built a campaign that said
every community deserves justice,”
Cabán said in front of her crowd of
supporters at La Boom in Woodside.
“We did it, y’all.”
A public defender only seven years
out of law school, Cabán faced doubt
as to her ability to lead an office of
over 600 staff members. But along
the campaign trail, she garnered
high-profile endorsements from the
likes of Ocasio-Cortez, Philadelphia
DA Larry Krasner, and Senators
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth
Warren.
But Cabán drew nationwide
attention with a progressive
platform that took an aggressive
stance against mass incarceration
and decriminalizing sex work.
Cabán also said she would not
request cash bail from defendants,
regardless of the crime.
Tiff any Caban declared victory in the Queens DA primary on June 25.
Photo: Mark Hallum/Ridgewood Times
Primary turnout
slow across area
BY JACOB KAYE
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
The rain may have tampered down already low expectations for voter
turnout in the Democratic primary for Queens district attorney in
Ridgewood and Glendale on Tuesday morning, but voters who did
come out did so to exercise their civic duty, they said.
“I started to vote more because of Trump,” said Cecilia Garcia, a dog
handler from Glendale. “You feel more compelled to do your duty.”
Adam Geisen, an employee of a large tech company, said he votes in
every election so that it becomes a habit.
“The more you make it a habit, the more you’re aware of what’s going,”
Geisen said. “The more it becomes a habit, the easier it becomes to do.”
Turn out was relatively low at P.S. 88 in Ridgewood. By 7:30 a.m., 90
minutes after the polls opened, only three people had voted. At the
Christ Tabernacle Church in Glendale, 17 people had voted by 9:05 a.m.,
with most showing up in the previous 10 minutes.
Stephanie Plachy, the fourth voter of the day in Ridgewood, showed
up because she heard a lot about the race in the media.
“I feel like it’s gotten a lot of publicity,” said Plachy. “I just wanted to
participate.”
Several voters came out because they weren’t sure when they’d next
get the opportunity to.
“A lot of criminal justice reform comes from what the DA represents,
so that’s important to me,” said Glen Feinstein, an actor in Ridgewood.
Over in Glendale, one voter was excited to see some change and
wanted to be a part of it.
“The DA had been there for so long,” said Aaron Kreiswirth. “It seemed
like an opportunity for some fresh blood and I wanted to take advantage
of that.”
From your Friends at the
Ridgewood Property Owners
& Civic Association
Please remember that there is no meeting
in July or August 2019.
Our next scheduled meeting will be on
Thursday, September 5, 2019.
Please check for reminders and current news
on our Facebook Page:
www.facebook.com/RPOCA.nyc
Please have a safe and pleasant holiday!
See you in September!
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