8 NOVEMBER 16, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Paper ballot count in extremely tight 30th District race
Photo via Shutterstock
All the absentee and affi davit ballots still need to be counted in the 30th
Council District race.
History repeats itself for Crowley in tight Council race
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM / @
ROBBPOZ
The too-close-to-call fi nish of the
30th City Council District seat
in Queens is a case of “deja vu
all over again” for the incumbent,
Elizabeth Crowley.
Nearly 10 years ago, Crowley found
herself in similar territory amid a
special election for the 30th District
seat. Dennis Gallagher, who had
beaten Crowley for the seat in 2001,
occupied the offi ce until April of 2008,
when he resigned after pleading
guilty in a sex assault case.
Crowley, at that time an educator
from Glendale, was one of four candidates
in the non-partisan June special
election that entitled the winner to
the seat through the end of 2008.
There would be another election in
November to determine who would
serve out the remainder of Gallagher’s
term, which expired at the end
of 2009.
By city law, parties cannot formally
nominate a City Council special
election participant, and each candidate
secures their own ballot line.
Crowley, a Democrat, ran on the
“Schools First” line, as she based her
campaign that spring on improving
schools throughout the district.
Also contesting the special election
were former Councilman Tom
Ognibene, a Republican who ran on
the “Experience Counts” line (he had
served in the seat between 1992 and
2001); Anthony Como, a Republican
who was an aide to then-state Senator
Serphin Maltese and ran on the
“People First” line; and Charles Ober,
a Democrat and active member of the
Ridgewood Property Owners and
Civic Association who ran on the
“Community First” line.
All four candidates engaged in
an spirited, six-week campaign that
culminated with the June 3 vote.
Turnout was low, but with four viable
candidates, no one candidate secured
a clear majority.
Aft er all the precincts reported
that night, it was unclear who would
come out on top. Como and Crowley
combined for 62.5 percent of all the
votes cast in the special election, but
Como ended the evening ahead of
Crowley by just 70 votes.
Crowley did not concede, opting to
wait until all the ballots were counted;
there were about 200 absentee
ballots that had yet to be factored
in the decision. The following week,
the Board of Elections recanvassed
the voting machines and counted the
absentee ballots — and Como’s lead
shrunk to 38 votes.
In the end, Crowley conceded the
race to Como — and began her campaign
to win the seat in the November
election.
As part of her general election
campaign, she stumped for votes, in
part, by attending meetings of local
civic groups including the Juniper
Park Civic Association (JPCA) — led
by its president, Robert Holden.
Como, as it happened, found himself
in a falling out with the JPCA over
a stalled rezoning plan covering Maspeth,
Middle Village and Glendale.
During a Sept. 25 meeting, as the
Ridgewood Times reported, Holden
claimed that Como’s office didn’t
return the civic group’s calls about
the rezoning plan — and intimated
that it was the result of the group’s
rift with Gallagher over the previous
two years.
Crowley attended that Sept. 25
meeting and told residents that, if
elected, she would move the rezoning
proposal forward — going so far
as to promise that she’d bring the
City Planning commissioner to the
area for a visit.
Crowley wound up easily defeating
Como on Nov. 4, garnering 56
percent of the vote. Crowley worked
with the JPCA and the city to get the
rezoning plan moving forward and
ultimately enacted.
But not long thereaft er, Crowley
and Holden began feuding; over the
next nine years, they clashed over
myriad issues from the construction
of Maspeth High School to a proposed
homeless shelter in the community.
Holden decided to challenge
Crowley’s bid for a third term this
year. After losing to her in the
Democratic primary but ultimately
securing the Republican line and
third-party tickets, Holden ended
Election Night 2017 ahead of Crowley
by 133 votes.
As she did in June 2008, Crowley’s
waiting for all the votes to be counted
before deciding what to do next.
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
According to a source close to
the situation, the city Board
of Elections (BOE) has begun
counting the paper ballots (absentee
and affi davit ballots) in Queens’ 30th
Council District race between twoterm
incumbent Elizabeth Crowley
and Middle Village civic leader Robert
Holden. It is uncertain, however, how
long the count will take.
The source told the Ridgewood
Times that there are nearly 200 affi -
davit ballots and approximately more
than 500 absentee ballots to be tallied,
so the count may continue into Thursday,
and even further into the week.
Voters submit absentee ballots
in advance if they know they are
unable to make it to the polls in
person on Election Day; all mailed
absentee ballots must be received
by the Board of Elections no more
than 7 days after Election Day. Affidavit
ballots are given to voters who
arrive at the polls but whose names
are not found in the voter registry;
the Board of Elections reviews the
individual ballots and voter records
before determining whether to
count them.
Election Night results were just too
close to call between the heated rivals,
with all the scanners reporting in on
Nov. 7, Holden held a slim 133-vote
lead over Crowley for the Council
seat, which represents all or parts
of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth,
Middle Village, Woodhaven and
Woodside.
The Ridgewood Times has reached
out to the BOE for comment on the
situation and is awaiting reply.
As of press time on Wednesday
aft ernoon, the ballot count was not
made available. Check QNS.com for
more updates as this story unfolds.
Photo: Robert Pozarycki/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and Juniper Park Civic Association
President Robert Holden, as pictured in 2008.
