12 JULY 11, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Don’t let the recount divide Queens
Recounts may determine the
winners of hotly contested,
close elections — but they
EDITORIAL
always leave the taste of defeat in
everyone’s mouth.
The surprising automatic recount
in the Democratic primary for
Queens district attorney between
public defender Tiffany Cabán
and Borough President Melinda
Katz already is leaving Queens
residents feeling bitter. They are
both candidates of the same party,
albeit from different wings — and
yet, they’re acting as if they’re
implacable enemies.
Though the numbers were clearly
against her — Katz had to win a
majority of the thousands of paper
ballots to regain the lead — she
refused to concede and opted to wait
for all votes to be counted. Turns out
that she was right to do so, as by July
5, her 1,100-vote defeat turned into a
16-vote lead.
Katz claimed victory, and the
Cabán campaign was quick to allege
that the Queens County Democratic
Party — which they referred to
as “the machine” — had undue influence over the Board of Elections
Board of Elections workers started the recount in Middle Village on July 9. Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
appointees, and therefore, the paper
ballot count itself. In essence, it
accused the machine of favoring
Katz and meddling in the race.
The Katz campaign responded
by refuting those allegations as
baseless — then added its own
gasoline to the fire by claiming the
Cabán campaign sought to dismiss
affidavit ballots from what they
termed to be “communities of color”
in southeast Queens. In essence, it
was accusing Team Cabán of being
racist.
Accusations of political misconduct
and racism only beget mistrust from
the public. Keep in mind that the
winner of this contest will likely be
the next chief prosecutor in Queens
— but the acrimony being stirred
now threatens to leave the eventual
winner of this recount having
alienated a large chunk of their own
constituents next year.
These cynical accusations may also
lead to an unintended consequence:
further killing voter trust in a
county where few people, as it is,
participate in their own democracy.
If Cabán voters feel that a District
Attorney Katz was installed into
power through machine politics,
they may not be so inclined to vote
next time. The same could be said
about Katz voters who believe
a District Attorney Cabán used
lawyers and tried to dismiss certain
affidavit ballots to secure power.
Nobody’s asking for the Katz and
Caban campaigns to join hands and
sing “Kumbaya” on the steps of the
Queens County Criminal Court
House. However, both camps, and
others associated with them, must
take responsibility in this testing
time to tone down the rhetoric, let
the process play out and refrain
from the temptation of tearing down
the other candidate.
More than just an office is at stake
here. Katz and Cabán would be wise
to remember that.
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ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ROBERT POZARYCKI
Classifi ed Manager
DEBORAH CUSICK
Assistant Classifi ed Manager
MARLENE RUIZ
Reporters
EMILY DAVENPORT
MARK HALLUM
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
BILL PARRY
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