WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 22, 2021 7
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Crowley concedes borough president race
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Elizabeth Crowley conceded in
the Democratic primary race
for Queens borough president
on Friday, July 16, nearly four weeks
aft er the June 22 election.
Incumbent Borough President
Donovan Richards previously declared
victory on July 6, and the city’s Board of
Elections (BOE) certifi ed the election
results.
“With the BOE opening and counting
the fi nal ballots yesterday, it has
become clear that the numbers are just
not there for us to win the democratic
nomination,” Crowley said. “This is not
the result we were hoping for, but looking
back, I feel incredibly proud of the
campaign we ran.”
The former city councilwoman ran
against her former colleague Richards
in last year’s special election to replace
Melinda Katz, who vacated the offi ce to
take over as Queens District Attorney.
Crowley lost to Richards by 12,000
votes but closed the gap considerably
in the primary.
“First, I owe a huge thank you to all
those that made this campaign possible:
my staff who worked long hours and
late nights to put us in a position to win,
all of our volunteers who braved the
Elizabeth Crowley (l.) conceded to Donovan Richards in the Democratic
primary race for Queens borough president. File photos
cold to gather petitions in March and
the heat to knock on doors in June, and
to everyone who made a contribution
that allowed us to run a true grassroots
campaign,” Crowley said.
On Tuesday, July 13, Crowley spoke at
a City Hall Park celebration for 21 in ‘21,
the advocacy group she co-founded in
2017 with a goal of getting more women
elected to the City Council. According
to the unoffi cial results from the city’s
Board of Elections, the City Council
is now poised to have as many as 30
women elected to serve, 26 of whom
are women of color.
“This was a truly historic election,
held in the midst of a pandemic and
post pandemic recovery,” Crowley
said on July 16. “Voters knew what was
at stake and voted in record numbers
with almost 200,000 Queens residents
casting a ballot in this race, more than
we have seen in generations, and I am
proud that we received 49.7 percent of
their votes in the fi nal round.”
Aft er he declared victory, Richards
shocked many by posting “We beat
your racist ass” on Twitter followed
by a cryptic reference to Black Lives
Matter.
The following day, Richards was
unapologetic in a statement released
through his campaign.
“Since our victory in the June 2020
Democratic primary, Ms. Crowley has
repeatedly insinuated that she would
have won if not for the death of George
Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives
Matter movement across our country,”
Richards said.
Crowley said she was “extremely
disappointed by the slanderous and untruthful
remarks made by” Richards.
On Friday, Crowley appeared to
make reference to the episode.
“Politics is a tough business, and
it can bring out the worst in some,
but running in this race showed me
once again how much we all have in
common,” Crowley said in conclusion.
“Although I am conceding this race, I assure
you that I am optimistic about the
future of Queens, and I will continue
to work for a stronger Queens for our
families.”
Richards will now face Republican
Thomas Zmich of Bayside, a Gulf War
veteran and retired construction
manager and union leader who previously
mounted a challenge to Congresswoman
Grace Meng.
Zmich ran a campaign with an
agenda that included promoting
constitutional rights, support for law
enforcement, and implementing a nationwide
civics accountability course
for high school students.
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Jackson Heights Assemblywoman Jessica
González-Rojas and Brooklyn state Sen. Jabari
Brisport recently introduced Johari’s Law, a new
law that would make the use of psychoactive drugs
to force animals to have sex illegal.
This bill was introduced in response to a New York
Times article that outlines how zoos use psychoactive
drugs to manage animals in captivity. The article
uncovered details of a female gorilla named Johari
who would fi ght off the male she was placed with to
procreate. The zoo then dosed her with Prozac until
she surrendered to the male.
The legislators wanted to create a law that would
protect animals like Johari and prevent facilitated
sexual violence with drugs meant to treat mental
health illnesses.
“What happened to Johari is state-sanctioned
sexual violence on vulnerable animals who
are harmed because of our capitalistic desire to
entertain people at the expense of other species,”
González-Rojas said.
Brisport said animals should be protected just as
humans are from forced sex with the use of drugs.
The bill is also supported by animal rights groups
like the Voters for Animal Rights, Last Chance for
Animals and Four Paws.
“The fact that zoos are drugging animals in order
to breed them demonstrates just how abusive
these archaic institutions are both physically and
psychologically for non-human animals,” said Matthew
Dominguez, a political adviser for Voters for
Animal Rights.
The bill is currently in committee before it gets
voted on by the state Senate and Assembly. If the bill
passes and is signed into law by Governor Andrew
Cuomo, it will go into eff ect immediately.
Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas
Photo by Kisha Bari
Queens lawmaker introduces bill prohibiting use of
psychoactive drugs to force zoo animals to procreate
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