With the ranked choice vote being used for the first time in citywide races, it is too early to declare a winner in the races for mayor, comptroller, and public advocate. Across the five boroughs, there are 5,901 voting precincts where Tuesday’s ballots are counted, along with absentee and early votes submitted ahead of time. Also in play are the second and third choices of voters that could determine the outcome if there is no candidate with the majority of the votes. We may have to wait until the middle of July to know the next mayor of New York.
As of 11:30 p.m. on June 22, Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, and Maya Wiley were leading in the unofficial results, as primary election day results were being counted by each precinct. In the Republican primary for mayor, Curtis Sliwa had a 40% lead over Fernando Mateo.
The Democratic primaries for Comptroller and Public Advocate also showed lopsided early leads by candidates with better name recognition. Progressive Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander led against Council Speaker Corey Johnson in the contest for Comptroller.
In the Democratic primary for Public Advocate, incumbent Jumaane Williams led with nearly two-thirds of the vote.
Among the Council races within the readership area of the Queens Jewish Link, Sandra Ung led in District 20, which covers downtown Flushing. In the 23rd District on the eastern edge of Queens, Linda Lee had a very slim lead over the DSA-backed Jaslin Kaur.
The primary for District 24, where our newspaper is based, had incumbent Jim Gennaro leading against leftist Moumita Ahmed with over 95% of the votes tallied, proving again that celebrity endorsements and robust social media following bear no relation to the demographics of the district, where the Jewish community pays attention to local races and has a disciplined cadre of activists who brought out the vote for Gennaro.
Likewise in District 29, where Lynn Schulman was edging out leftist Aleda Gagarin. Schulman has the support of outgoing Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz and Borough President Donovan Richards. David Aronov and Avi Cyperstein, the two candidates who devoted the most efforts for the Jewish vote, are third and sixth, respectively. In District 30, Robert Holden appears poised to hold onto his seat. In Far Rockaway’s District 31, Selvena Brooks-Powers held a big lead over her challengers; it appears rank choice will not play a factor. In Brooklyn’s District 47, Ari Kagan led Steven Patzer, and in District 48, Steven Saperstein was nearly tied with Mariya Markh.
In the Democratic Primary for Queens Borough President, incumbent Donovan Richards was neck and neck with Elizabeth Crowley, while the progressive Jimmy Van Bramer trailed as the distant third. In Queens’ Civil Court judge race, Soma Syed, who ran in the District 24 Special Election, held a razor thin lead past the 50% threshold over Michael Goldman.
By Sergey Kadinsky
