FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 30, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
сoronavirus
Queens borough president candidates react to cancellation of special election
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e special election for Queens
borough president has been canceled,
Gov. Andrew Cuomo
announced last week. Th e election,
which was originally scheduled
for March 24, was postponed
until June 23 before being
canceled outright by the state’s
executive order in an eff ort to
fi ght the spread of COVID-19.
While the special election may
be canceled, voters will still have
the opportunity to vote for a
Queens borough president
come June 23, when they’ll vote
in the primary leading up to
November’s general election.
It remains unclear which candidates
who ran in the canceled
special election will appear on
the primary ballot in June. Th ose
who do appear on the ballot
will be able to use contributions
and public funds they received
during the special election campaign
towards the June primary
and the November general election,
according to a Board of
Elections email sent to the candidates
and obtained by QNS.
QNS reached out to Cuomo’s
offi ce, the offi ce of Mayor Bill de
Blasio and the Board of Elections
for clarifi cation about the decision
to cancel the election but
did not receive a response. Th e
six candidates running in the
special election for Queens borough
president have mixed reactions
to the executive order, with
some expressing their support
and others off ering harsh criticism.
For Councilman Donovan
Richards, who’s backed by the
Queens Democratic Party, the
decision to cancel the special
election clears up some of the
confusion voters might have
around the election.
“The health of voters and
poll workers has always been
our primary concern for this
election. We also recognized
the need to educate voters
on the process and the method
to vote in the safest possible
manner,” Richards said.
“This decision should help to
clarify that process and limit
confusion on Election Day.
Elections are a crucial component
of our democracy,
and I hope to see the Board
of Elections continue to take
steps to ensure safety when we
head to the polls.”
Others recognized the importance
of keeping people safe
while heading to the polls, but
acknowledged the importance
of looking forward to next steps.
“Th ough we are disappointed
more than 2,600 Queens residents
lost their voice aft er casting
a ballot during early voting,
it is all the more reason
we must safely make ourselves
heard on June 23rd,” a spokesperson
for Councilman Costa
Constantinides told QNS. “Th is
crisis has illustrated the dire
need to reform and strengthen
our democracy, so it remains
intact when the next challenge
arises. We are committed to
fi ghting for those solutions moving
forward.”
Constantinides previously said
Cuomo’s absentee ballot order
— which allows voters to apply
for an absentee ballot for free —
falls drastically short of what’s
needed during this crisis. He
added the state should consider
mail-in ballots to make it easier
for voters.
Elizabeth Crowley, the former
Ridgewood councilwoman,
was concerned about the added
confusion, but believed Cuomo’s
move for the special election is
“prudent.”
“Th e disruption to our elections
in New York from COVID-
19 has been deeply challenging.
Th e last thing we need is added
confusion.” Crowley told QNS.
“Having one election instead of
two in June for Queens borough
president is prudent. I have
been working hard throughout
the crisis to provide services
and relief for residents in need.
Asking voters for their support
is a solemn responsibility. Th is
is as true today as it ever was,
especially in the epicenter of the
pandemic.”
Crowley, whose platform is
for a fairer Queens, agrees with
absentee ballots. But several candidates
in the special election see
the cancellation of the race as an
illegal move by the governor to
retain control of the Democratic
Party and to stifl e the will of the
voters. Anthony Miranda, who
positioned himself as a political
outsider during his campaign,
sees this move as further evidence
of the Queens Democratic
Party exerting their control on
power.
“What they’re doing is, they’re
empowering the Democratic
Party or the people that are
empowered, as opposed to
empowering voters,” Miranda
said. “Th is process almost eliminates
the ability to have a fair
and equitable playing fi eld to be
able to get the message out to
voters in an even handed manner.”
Th en there’s former Assistant
District Attorney Jim Quinn,
who will no longer appear on
the ballot as he only fi led for the
special election. He’s considering
challenging the governor’s order
in court.
“Th e voters of Queens have
been subjected to confusing,
vague and legally questionable
edicts surrounding this
election since the pandemic
began,” Quinn said in a statement.
“Th is outcome particularly
disenfranchises Republicans,
Conservatives and independents,
who have now been prohibited
from voting to elect their
borough president on June 23.”
Quinn, who ran on a platform
of law and order, said that
while the borough president
was designed to be a non-partisan
election to fi ll the position,
Cuomo’s action is “clearly”
designed to give an advantage
to the Queens Democratic
Machine.
Dao Yin, a Queens businessman
running with a conservative
platform, was shocked about
Cuomo’s decision.
“Queens is struggling and has
been the hardest-hit borough in
the city, with nearly 50,000 confi
rmed cases of coronavirus. Th is
is not the time for Cuomo’s political
games,” Yin said. “Cuomo
is denying the voters of Queens
their right to representation
during these tragic times. How
can he disenfranchise the entire
borough, when he was born and
raised right here in Queens?”
Yin’s campaign manager, Aaron
Foldenauer, also questioned
the legality of the order, comparing
it to a previous case of
Congressman Michael Grimm in
which a court ordered Cuomo to
set a special election aft er Grimm
vacated the seat.
“Th ere are nearly 1.2 million
registered voters in Queens but
only approximately 750,000 of
them are registered Democrats,”
Foldenauer said. “Th us, approximately
450,000 voters now have
no voice as to the next leader
of Queens during these diffi -
cult times.”
De Blasio danced around a
question about the Queens borough
president special election
when asked about Cuomo’s
order during a press conference
on Monday, April 27.
Instead, de Blasio said the governor’s
absentee ballot approach
was a step in the right direction,
and the cancellation of the
presidential primary was understandable.
“In this crisis, to me, the fi rst
question is health and safety.
I care deeply about the sanctity
of our elections, but the fi rst
question is health and safety,” de
Blasio said. “I respect the decisions
that the state has made.
What I’m looking forward to
is getting through this recovery
the right way and getting our
whole society back to normal,
and having elections again as
an indicator of our Renaissance,
of our resurgence. But I think
that’s something that obviously
is going to happen in the fall,
not now.”
With additional reporting by
Bill Parry and Jacob Kaye.
Reopening plan for New York taking shape with COVID-19 cases, deaths decreasing
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Reopening the New York regional
economy is coming closer to reality as
the state reports continued decline in
hospitalization rates as well as deaths.
According to Governor Andrew Cuomo,
the Centers for Disease Control says
regions can begin a return to normalcy
aft er a 14-day decrease in hospitalizations,
which leads the state into a threephase
plan to do so safely.
On Saturday, hospitalizations for new
COVID-19 cases were at 1,087 while
there were 367 deaths across the state.
Th e infection rate is currently at 0.8
percent, which means one COVID-19
positive person is only infecting one
other person on average, according to
Cuomo.
But despite this, Cuomo still indicated
on Sunday that May 15 remains the
goal for phase one of reopening diff erent
regions of New York state.
“Phase one of the reopening will
involve construction and manufacturing
activities, and within construction
and manufacturing, those businesses that
have a low risk,” Cuomo said. “Phase two
would be more of a business-by-business
analysis using the matrix that we’ve discussed:
How essential a service does that
business provide, and how risky is that
business?”
According to Cuomo, it will be “very
much” up to businesses whether or not
they reopen, but there will be a twoweek
period between phases to monitor
whether or not the virus is making
a comeback through testing and hospitalizations.
Th e two weeks imposed by the state
between phases is informed by the incubation
rate of the disease.
“Th ey have to think about how they’re
going to open up with this quote-unquote
new normal, what precautions
are they going to take in the workplace,
what safeguards are they going to put in
place,” Cuomo said. “Everyone understands
the overall risk that you start to
increase activity and the infection rate
goes up, two weeks to actually do that
monitoring.”
One caveat of reopening will be limiting
attractions in one region that would
provoke travel to other regions as people
from various places travel through a
desire for activity. But Cuomo said this
primarily goes for downstate where different
facets of life that operate in lockstep
to other states are most common.
Costa Constantinides, Donovan Richards, Jim Quinn, Anthony Miranda,
Elizabeth Crowley and Dao Yin are candidates for Queens Borough President.
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
