BK councilman bests Ulrich in PA election
BY ZACH GEWELB, MARK
HALLUM AND ROBERT
POZARYCKI
Brooklyn City Councilman
Jumaane Williams scored a
decisive win in the special
election to fill the vacant office
of public advocate.
Unofficial returns from
the New York City Board
of Elections have Williams
well ahead of the field of 17
candidates, taking 33.2 percent
of the votes thus far (133,809).
Queens City Councilman
Eric Ulrich was his closest
competitor, but a distant
second with 19.2 percent of
the votes (77,026), according to
unofficial results.
“The Public
Advocate — the
People’s Advocate
— is a role that I
am incredible
excited to fill,
and one that is
crucial to our
city,” Williams
said in his
victory speech Tuesday night.
“I know that there are some
who have sought to get rid of it
— and now, I’m sure there are
powerful people who want it
gone even more. But we aren’t
going anywhere. Instead, we’re
going to hold the powerful
accountable. The mayor, the
Police Commissioner, the
Governor, the big money
interests — we are watching,
and we will speak out.”
The unofficial results have
former City Council Speaker
Melissa Mark-Viverito in
third with 10.96 percent of
the votes (44,158), followed by
state Assemblyman Michael
Blake with 8.24 percent
(33,198) and City Councilman
Ydanis Rodriguez with 6.02
percent (24,266). No other
candidate received more than
20,000 votes.
Turnout in the race was,
as expected, horrendous. So
far, the BOE has tallied 402,778
votes citywide. By contrast,
1,097,846 New Yorkers cast
a vote in the 2017 mayoral
election — a race which had
an abysmally low turnout of
23 percent.
Despite falling short
in the election, Ulrich
was proud with how his
campaign fared.
In the crowded
ballroom of Russo’s
JUMAANE WILLIAMS
on the Bay in Howard Beach,
Ulrich told the crowd of
supporters how important he
believes the office is despite
the fact that some elected
officials have questioned its
relevance.
“The good news we came
in second place,” Ulrich said
City Councilman Eric Ulrich, with daughter Lilly, was optimistic
despite his loss to Jumaane Williams in the 17-candidate election
Tuesday night. Photo by Mark Hallum
Tuesday night. “I want to
thank all New Yorkers for
coming out to vote in election
that some people said was not
going to be how important
it was.”
The Feb. 26 nonpartisan
contest was ordered following
the resignation of Letitia
James, who resigned as public
advocate after being elected as
New York State’s new attorney
general. Each candidate had
to secure their own ballot
lines outside of political
affiliations. Political parties
were permitted to make
endorsements in the race,
but they could not formally
nominate a candidate.
Once the results are
certified, the special election
winner will become public
advocate and hold the office
through the end of the year.
Another election will be held
in November to determine who
will hold the public advocate’s
office for the remainder of
James’ term, which expires in
December 2021.
Candidates seeking to
make the public advocate race
in November must win their
parties’ primaries in June.
Ironically, petitioning for the
primaries began on Feb. 26, the
date of the special election.
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de
Blasio was quick to congratulate
Williams on his victory. The
public advocate is the first in
the line of mayoral succession,
and would succeed the mayor
should he vacate the office
before the end of his term.
“I join all New Yorkers
in congratulating Jumaane
Williams for being elected New
York City’s Public Advocate,”
de Blasio said. “As a former
Public Advocate, I know
firsthand how important this
office is to our city. The Public
Advocate holds our entire
City government accountable
and amplifies the voices of all
New Yorkers. I look forward to
working with Public Advocate
Williams to continue making
this the fairest big city
in America.”
Baysider to rep Queens in St. Patrick’s Day Parade
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Following in his parents’
footsteps, Bayside resident
Kieran Mahoney has been
chosen as this year’s Queens
County Aide for the annual
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
in Manhattan.
The 27-year-old was
officially celebrated at the
Grand Marshal and Aides
Installation Reception on
Sunday, Feb. 24, alongside 15
other aides to the parade’s
grand marshal.
Both his mother and father
served as Aides to the Grand
Marshal from Queens County
in 1996 and 2011.
His family heritage can be
traced back to Skibbereen in
County Cork, Ireland.
According to the official
website for the NYC St.
Patrick’s Day Parade, aides to
the grand marshal are chosen
“in recognition of their
outstanding service to the
Irish-American Community
of New York. The selection of
an Aide is acknowledgement
of years of unselfish,
dedicated and distinguished
service to the New York and
Irish communities and for
their contribution to Irish
faith, culture and heritage.”
Mahoney told Patch that
although the aide position
is “largely ceremonial,” it is
“one of the biggest honors” to
receive in the Irish-American
community. Aides to the
grand marshal are some
of the first to march in the
annual parade.
Board members of the
Queens County Ancient Order
of Hibernians (AOH) elected
him for the position in the fall
of 2018. Mahoney has been a
member of America’s largest
Irish cultural organization
since 2010. AOH was founded
in Ireland over 300 years
Kieran Mahoney will represent Queens at the upcoming NYC St.
Patrick’s Day Parade. Photo by Dominick Totino
ago and made its way to New
York City nearly 200 years
ago. Organizers formed the
secret organization to help
Irish Catholics when their
churches and schools were
plundered as a result of Irish
Penal Law.
The Bayside resident
has been the AOH Division
9 Queens County president
since 2013 and also serves
as Queens County Board
vice president.
In 2018, Mahoney became
president and chairman of
the inaugural Bayside St.
Patrick’s Day Parade and
Irish Echo named him one
of their “40 under 40” that
same year.
Mahoney is a Holy Cross
High School alum and
went on to earn his degree
in public administration
from CUNY John Jay. Upon
graduating, he worked as a
district representative for
the New York State Senate
and currently works as a
specialist for the NYC Human
Resources Administration.
The NYC St. Patrick’s
Day Parade is scheduled
for Saturday, March 16,
beginning at 11 a.m. Marchers
will travel along Fifth Avenue
from 44th to 79th Streets.
24 TIMESLEDGER, MARCH 1-7, 2019 QNS.COM
/QNS.COM
