FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 15, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
politics
Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
What to expect with the borough presidency if Katz becomes DA
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
As Borough President Melinda Katz
prepares to vacate her current seat pending
a November victory in the Queens
district attorney race, the public may be
curious as what is next for the offi ce of the
county’s top executive.
Here’s a look into to what you can
expect from the process of leadership
change in your borough in the coming
months and who you can expect to make
a claim for key elected offi ces.
Is Melinda Katz set to become
the next Queens DA and succeed
the late Richard Brown?
More than likely, the answer is yes.
With superiority of Democratic voters
across Queens and only one Republican
elected offi cial in the borough, it would
seem logical that Katz would take the
lead in the general election too aft er beating
Tiff any Cabán by margin of only 55
votes. Cabán’s near victory marked a new
chapter in the growing progressive movement
in Queens in which the victory
of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez was almost recreated on a larger
scale.
Will Republican Daniel Kogan prevail
over Katz? Th e Queens County
Republican Party seems to think he stands
a chance and told the Queens Courier
in June they would not consider using
Kogan as a placeholder to be replaced by
Gregory Lasak or another fi gure.
But Kogan has told the Th e City and the
New York Post that he does not plan on
running an aggressive campaign for DA
with the knowledge the Republicans lack
the advantage borough-wide in terms of
votes.
If Katz wins, what happens with
the borough president’s offi ce?
If the November general election goes
as many expect it to go, Katz will be the
next DA. In order take that offi ce come
Jan. 1, 2020, she’ll have to resign the borough
presidency.
Her offi ce, in the interim, would be
left under the care of Deputy Borough
President Sharon Lee until a special election
is held for Katz’s replacement. Mayor
Bill de Blasio calls for a special election
which he is required to do within 45
days of a vacancy. Th is means voters can
expect to go to the polls not only in the
special election, which would be open to
Democrats and Republicans.
Th e situation would be similar to what
happened earlier this year with the public
advocate’s offi ce. Letitia James, who was
elected from the offi ce to state Attorney
General last November, resigned on New
Year’s Eve 2018. De Blasio ordered a special
election for Feb. 26 to fi ll the public
advocate vacancy, which was won by
Jumaane Williams. (While the public
advocate’s offi ce was vacant, City Council
Speaker Corey Johnson stepped in as the
acting public advocate.)
Th e special election winner would only
earn the right to be borough president for
the remainder of 2020; they would need to
run again and win in November 2020 for
the right to serve the remainder of Katz’s
current term, which ends in 2021.
Who’s running to potentially
replace Katz as
borough president?
Just like the DA race, the potential special
election for Queens borough presidents
is already shaping up to be a crowded
fi eld of Democrats.
With the majority of City Council
members term limited out in 2021, those
who have already thrown their hat into
the race are familiar faces. Councilmen
Jimmy Van Bramer has been eyeing the
seat for some time, while Councilman
Costa Constantinides has also expressed
interest. Former Councilwoman Elizabeth
Crowley, who lost her seat to Robert
Holden in 2017, has also announced her
intention to run.
Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman has
also fi led paperwork with the Board of
Elections as of Aug. 7 and was a keen supporter
of the Queens County Democratic
Party’s backing of Katz throughout the
Queens DA primary recount process.
Other rumored hopefuls are
Councilmen Donovan Richards and Paul
Vallone. Councilman Eric Ulrich, the borough’s
only elected Republican, is also
rumored at potentially seeking the borough
presidency.
Who has the edge thus far in
the borough president’s race?
At this stage, the advantage lies with the
candidate who has already been devoting
time to raising money and support.
Crowley launched an exploratory committee
in in 2018 and spent that time raising
money. In March, she announced at a
meeting for the JFK Club that she believed
Queens does not get its fair share from
the city in terms of funding and government
services.
Van Bramer has been widening his visibility
outside his Sunnyside council district
by allying himself with the progressive
movement, vocalizing opposition
against Amazon’s HQ2 proposal for
Long Island City and being common sight
alongside Tiff any Cabán in her run for
DA which saw her rise as a national fi gure.
He formally announced his intention
to run in April.
Hyndman may see the advantages of
backing from the Democratic Party aft er
supporting Katz in the DA race. As the
recount process showed New Yorkers,
the Democratic establishment still wields
considerable power over the political
process in the borough having provided
legal backing throughout the six-week
post-primary contest.
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
