10 NOVEMBER 4, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Political landscape in Queens set to change
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO AND
ZACHARY GEWELB
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Polls are offi cially closed for the
general election, and unoffi cial
results have started to trickle in.
New Yorkers went out to cast their
votes during the consequential general
election on Tuesday, Nov. 2, which includes
voting for who will become the
next mayor of New York City — with AP
calling the race for Eric Adams shortly
aft er polls closed — as well as other citywide
races for comptroller and public
advocate. Visit amny.com and politicsny.
com for coverage of citywide races.
New Yorkers also voted on fi ve ballot
proposals to change some segments of
the state’s constitution, including the
redistricting process, environmental
protections, voting and absentee ballots
access and the Civil Court’s function.
The general election didn’t use
ranked-choice voting (RCV) this time
around, unlike in the competitive primary
election.
From Oct. 23 to Oct. 31, 36,456 Queens
residents — about 21.5% of 169,879 early
voters citywide — took advantage of
early voting, according to the unoffi cial
count from the New York City Board of
Elections (BOE).
Voter turnout appeared relatively
low in poll sites across Queens. However,
voters appeared more energetic
in some districts, particularly in the
more competitive races for City Council
District 19 and 32.
In District 19, three candidates —
Democratic candidate and former
Councilman Tony Avella, Republican
candidate Vicki Paladino and Conservative
candidate John-Alexander Sakelos
— looked to replace term-limited
incumbent Councilman Paul Vallone.
The district covers the neighborhoods
of Auburndale, Bay Terrace, Bayside,
Beechhurst, College Point, Douglaston,
Flushing, Little Neck, Malba and
Whitestone.
At a polling site in Little Neck, some
voters appeared to lean toward Paladino,
with volunteers still campaigning
for her Tuesday aft ernoon.
In District 32, three candidates —
Democratic candidate Felicia Singh,
Republican candidate Joann Ariola
and Community fi rst candidate Kenichi
Wilson — also battled it out to represent
the southern Queens area. The district,
Borough President Donovan Richards with his wife at the election night party. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed
which has been represented by termlimited
Councilman Eric Ulrich, is the
only Republican held City Council seat
in Queens.
The district covers the neighborhoods
of Belle Harbor, Breezy Point,
Broad Channel, Howard Beach, Lindenwood,
Neponsit, Ozone Park, Richmond
Hill, Rockaway Park, Roxbury, South
Ozone Park, West Hamilton Beach and
Woodhaven.
Throughout the south Queens
district, many voters went out to vote
in person and said some of their most
important issues include crime and vaccine
mandates. Ariola and Singh were
also seen campaigning and talking with
voters at polling sites.
Queens residents also voted for
borough president, having to choose
between Democratic incumbent Donovan
Richards and Republican candidate
Thomas Zmich.
Below you’ll fi nd the preliminary results
from the city’s Board of Elections
for Queens borough president and local
City Council races as of the morning of
Wednesday, Nov. 3.
QUEENS BOROUGH
PRESIDENT
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: Donovan
Richards (incumbent)
REPUBLICAN/CONSERVATIVE/
SAVE OUR CITY CANDIDATE:
Thomas Zmich
Richards currently leads Zmich,
having secured 65.72% of the votes with
97.72% of precincts reported, according
to unoffi cial results from the city’s
Board of Elections as of the morning of
Wednesday, Nov. 3.
Richards thanked his family, colleagues
and supporters at his election
party held at Vetro Restaurant and
Lounge — located at 164-49 Cross Bay
Blvd. in Howard Beach — with live
entertainment, dinner and a prayer
service.
“We are here to work with everyone
because that’s what this borough is
about. There are 190 countries represented
with over 350 languages and
dialects spoken in this borough. We are
not building any walls in this county —
we are breaking those walls down,”
Richards said. “This is not Trump’s
town; this is our town. We have work
to do ahead of us over the course of the
next eight years as borough president.”
Richards, who was a former city
councilman representing the 27th District
in southeast Queens, was sworn
into offi ce last year following a special
election aft er Melinda Katz became
district attorney. He will now serve four
years as borough president.
“We started diversifying the
community boards, and we are going
to fi nish that. There’s a lot of work to be
done. With $70 million in capital funding,
we were able to bring that money
into every corner of our borough,”
Richards said. “Some people may not
like it, but we didn’t come here to make
friends. We came here to get something
done — for the underserved and
underprivileged.”
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 19
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: Tony
Avella
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE:
Vickie Paladino
CONSERVATIVE/SAVE OUR CITY
CANDIDATE: John-Alexander Sakelos
Paladino currently leads Avella and
Sakelos, having secured 49.72% of the
votes with 99% of precincts reported,
according to unoffi cial results from the
city’s BOE as of Wednesday morning,
Nov. 3. Avella trailed with 42.95% of
the votes.
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT
20
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: Sandra
Ung
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE: Yu-
Ching Pai
Ung currently leads Pai, having secured
59.44% of the votes with 98.91%
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