20 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 1, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Moya takes lead in City Council District 21 primary election
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Incumbent Francisco Moya, who’s running
Photo courtesy of campaign
Francisco Moya
Incumbent Gennaro nears victory in District 24 race
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Aft er winning a special election earlier
this year to represent Council District 24,
Democratic incumbent James Gennaro
has taken the lead in the June 22 primary
race, having secured nearly 60 percent
of the vote, according to unoffi cial
results from the New York City Board of
Elections.
Gennaro collected 59.69 percent of the
vote (6,319 votes), with 99 percent of
scanners reported as of the morning of
Wednesday, June 23.
Other Democratic candidates in the
race include Moumita Ahmed (22.73 percent
of the vote), Mohammed Uddin (8.27
percent of the vote) and Saifur Khan (8.42
percent of the vote). Because Gennaro
secured more than 50 percent of the vote,
a ranked-choice voting recount was not
triggered in this race.
Th ere are also two Republican candidates
in the race — Timothy Rosen,
who has secured 59.35 percent
(435 votes), and Angelo King,
who has received 36.29 percent
(266 votes).
Gennaro took offi ce in
February aft er winning
about 60 percent of the
vote in the city’s fi rst election
to use ranked-choice
voting. He currently represents
Kew Gardens Hills,
Pomonok, Electchester, Fresh
Meadows, Hillcrest,
Jamaica Estates,
Briarwood,
P a r kwa y
Vi l l a g e ,
J ama i c a
Hills and
Jamaica.
In a statement to QNS, Gennaro said
he is looking forward to the fi nal certifi ed
results of the primary election and is hoping
for a victory in the November
general election.
“I am very thankful for the
tremendous support I received
in the Democratic primary
election in which our campaign
garnered almost 60 percent
of the vote on election
night and early voting results,”
Gennaro said. “To receive such
support is overwhelming and
most gratifying. It is a great
honor and privilege
to serve this
c ommu -
nity, and
v e r y
humbling
to have
earned the
trust of so many.”
Gennaro, a resident of Jamaica Estates,
cited his depth of experience and legislative
achievement with the City Council
when he represented District 24 from 2002
to 2013. He has also previously served as
deputy commissioner for the New York
State Department of Environmental
Conservation and an adjunct professor at
Queens College.
Ahmed, a community organizer who
ran a grassroots campaign, announced
her concession from the race on Twitter.
“We’re proud of the progress we made to
engage working-class people in our communities
to stand up to billionaire developers,”
Ahmed said. “We concede, for this
moment, for this race. But the movement
for housing justice continues, and we’ll be
at the front lines to fi ght for us.”
Uddin and Khan did not respond to
QNS’s request for comment before publication.
for re-election to the New York
City Council to represent District 21,
has declared victory in the June 22
primary election aft er securing more
than 50 percent of votes, according to
unoffi cial results from the Board of
Elections (BOE).
Moya garnered 52.16 percent of the
vote (2,680 votes), according to the BOE’s
unoffi cial results, while his opponents
— Ingrid Gomez (18.55 percent of the
votes), David Aiken (16.43 percent),
George Unuorah (6.01 percent) and Talea
Wufk a (6.34 percent) — have not secured
enough votes to trigger a ranked-choice
voting recount.
Th e offi cial results will not be in until
the anticipated date of July 12, aft er all
absentee ballots are counted.
Moya currently represents District 21,
which includes the neighborhoods of East
Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, LeFrak City
and Corona.
While he has been focused on fi ghting
for recovery for New Yorkers, especially
for those in his district, and delivering
for working families during his time in
the council, Moya told QNS he is “honored
to have been decisively re-elected,
and have the opportunity to continue
to serve our community in the
City Council.”
“Th e breadth of our victory is humbling,
especially as three dozen council
races remain uncalled for with rankedchoice
voting,” Moya said. “Together,
I will continue to stand up for our
community tirelessly.”
Prior to his 2017 election
to the City Council,
Moya was elected to the
39th Assembly District
in 2010, making him
the fi rst Ecuadorian-
American elected
to public office
in the United States.
During his tenure in the Assembly and
Council, Moya has focused on issues
that involve working-class and immigrant
families, union rights, workplace safety
and worker protections.
As his district was the “epicenter of the
epicenter” of the COVID-19 pandemic
that left behind death, sickness, hunger
and unemployment, Moya told
QNS in March that he’s focused on
the economic and public health
devastation of COVID, housing
aff ordability and protecting
workers’ rights.
Moya has continuously pushed
for increased COVID-19 testing
and vaccination sites in communities,
and to ensure that all
New Yorkers get the same access
to relief and resources. According
to Moya, they must address
these compounding
crises in order
to emerge from
the pandemic
stronger than
when they
went into it.
Alt hough
Gomez, a
mutual aid
activist and
l o n g t i m e
social worker,
did not
receive the
results she had wanted, she said she’s
incredibly “grateful to the community for
showing up for democracy yesterday.”
“Our campaign shed light on the economic
inequality plaguing our community,
on our need for aff ordable housing,
rent stabilization, cleaner streets and food
insecurity,” Gomez said in a statement
to QNS. “We will continue to hold the
incumbent accountable and we will not
stop fi ghting for the people of District 21!”
Wufk a thanked Councilman Daniel
Dromm and former Senator Hiram
Monserrate for their support, and her
team members who worked diligently on
behalf of her campaign to represent the
district.
“My belief in Democracy and community
stems directly from my heart and
I am truly grateful for my team members
and all those who voted for me,”
Wufk a said. “With that, my biggest wish
is that New York City addresses the mental
health crisis we are experiencing — we
need to regroup, no band-aids.”
Meanwhile, Onuorah also thanked his
staff and volunteers for generously giving
their time and eff ort to ensure their cause.
“I am proud of the campaign we’ve run.
While this is not the outcome we sought,
I remain steadfast in my commitment to
serving the Corona and Elmhurst communities,”
Onuorah said. “I will always be
a community servant fi rst.”
Th e general election will take place on
Nov. 2.
Photo courtesy of campaign
James Gennaro
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