FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 10, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Richards promises better days for renters during swearing-in ceremony
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Having beenoffi cially sworn in
on Dec. 2, new Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards got
to enjoy some pomp and circumstance
Feb. 23 special election set to fi ll Richards’ Council seat
BY JACOB KAYE
jkaye@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday set
a date for a special election to fi ll the
City Council seat left vacant by Queens
Borough President Donovan Richards,
who was sworn in as the borough’s executive
on Wednesday, Dec. 2.
Residents can vote either in-person or
via absentee ballot for the Feb. 23 special
election to select Richards’ replacement
in District 31, which covers Arverne,
Brookville, Edgemere, Far Rockaway,
Laurelton, Rosedale and Springfi eld
Gardens.
Th e winner of the February special election
will take offi ce immediately and serve
through December 2021, when Richards’
term was set to end. Th e winner will also
likely be campaigning for the June primary
for the seat and, if they win, the citywide
general election in November.
Th ere are 10 people who have already
announced their candidacy for the 2021
City Council race in the district, all of
whom will be eligible to run in the special
election.
Th e candidates include Latoya Benjamin,
Selvena Brooks-Powers, Monique
Charlton, Latanya Collins, Franck Joseph,
Nicole Lee, Nancy Martinez, Perri Pierre,
Shawn Rux and Manuel Silva.
Richards, who fi rst won the council seat
in a special election, has represented the
district since 2013.
Voters in the 31st District won’t be the
only Queens voters casting their ballots in
a special election in February.
Residents of City Council District 24,
which encompasses Kew Gardens Hills,
Pomonok, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest,
Jamaica Estates, Briarwood, Jamaica
Hills and Jamaica, will vote to replace
former Councilman Rory Lancman on
Feb. 2. Lancman recently took a job with
Governor Andrew Cuomo, now serving
as the state’s special council for ratepayer
protection.
Both races will see the implementation
of ranked-choice voting, in which voters
will pick their top fi ve candidates, instead
of just one.
In ranked-choice voting, the candidate
who receives over 50 percent of the
vote wins. If no candidate reaches that
threshold, the last place candidate will be
eliminated and the ballots in which they
ranked fi rst will go the candidate the voters
respectively ranked second. Th e process
will repeat until a candidate reaches
the majority.
with an inauguration
ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 6,
outside Queens Borough Hall.
State Attorney General Letitia
James did the honors this time
as Richards, the fi rst Black man
ever elected to the offi ce, said
that more aff ordable housing
would be created in Queens and
under more acceptable standards
of aff ordability and greater diversity
on community boards.
But Richards, a former southeast
Queens councilman, said
he would not have been there
if it was not for those who had
gone before him, namely the
late Claire Schulman who gave
him guidance and the late Helen
Marshall, who was the fi rst
African-American elected to the
offi ce, which is in its 122nd year
of existence.
“Kids in my neighborhood,
oft en grow up thinking that they
can’t make it, and can’t do great
things,” Richards said. “Being
able to see someone like Helen
Marshall in this seat means
something and meant something
to a young person of color like
me. It’s why I’m standing here
today and I will never ever forget
your legacy.”
According to Richards,
Superstorm Sandy off ered a
unique opportunity to redevelop
Queens with more housing
and infrastructure to give New
Yorkers in the “World’s Borough”
better lives following the disaster.
Now, a fi nancial crisis spawned
of COVID-19 presents another
opportunity to make improvements,
Richards said, starting
with tenant legal services and
ensuring the developers build for
an area median income refl ective
people already in the community.
“Aft er Superstorm Sandy, I saw
communities decimated. But
we overcame we rebuilt infrastructure,
stronger, we built
new aff ordable and sustainable
housing. We’re going to continue
that work,” Richards said. “I
know so many people are struggling
to pay their rent or fi nd an
aff ordable place to live. Th ere’s
been incredible growth in our
borough. But as we watch the
skyline transform and grow in
front of our eyes each and every
day, there are too many people
who feel as if they’re being
left behind. We’re gonna build
aff ordable housing in Queens.
We’re gonna identify sites and
ensure unit requirements are
part of these projects, in the
proper area median income in
the borough president’s offi ce.”
In the Nov. 3 general election,
Richards beat Queens County
Republican Party Chair Joann
Ariola. Now, a special election
will be held for his former council
seat on Feb. 23.
Members of the Queens
County Democratic Party attended
the chilly, socially distanced
outdoor ceremony, including
party Chairman Congressman
Gregory Meeks, Queens District
Attorney (and former borough
president) Melinda Katz, as well
as Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney and others in city and
state government.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer
also made an appearance at the
event, telling the audience he
hopes that in the coming years a
Democratic majority on Capitol
Hill will see his rise to majority
leader.
Th is story fi rst appeared on
amny.com.
Photo by Mark Hallum
File photo/QNS
/amny.com
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