Como lead shrinks, absentee ballots to determine winner

One week after polls closed for the 30th City Council District Special Election, Democrat Elizabeth Crowley has closed the gap on Republican Anthony Como to 29 votes after the machine recount with more than 200 absentee votes to be counted on Wednesday, June 11.
Officials at the city’s Board of Elections (BOE) finished the machine recount on Tuesday, and Como’s slim 70-vote lead in the election to replace disgraced former City Councilmember Dennis Gallagher had shrunk by 41 votes, according to sources close to both campaigns.
“This is everything that we had discussed after Election Day,” Como said on Tuesday after the machine recount. “I told everyone I was cautiously optimistic. I’m still ahead, and I prefer to be that way going into paper ballots.”
BOE officials will go through the remaining absentee paper ballots on Wednesday, but officials may not certify an official winner until next week.
“I think tomorrow is still going to work out in our favor, and then we can put it behind us and have the representation we need in the Council,” Como said.
A source close to the Crowley campaign confirmed the new vote margin and said he would wait to comment until after all the paper ballots were counted.
When the precincts reported the votes on Tuesday, June 10, Como received 2,352 votes while Crowley garnered 2,282 votes – a 1 percent difference in vote totals.
In addition to Como and Crowley, former City Councilmember Tom Ognibene and Ridgewood civic activist Charles Ober campaigned vigorously as voters went to the polls to cast their ballots on Tuesday, June 3. Ognibene received 2,031 votes while Ober received 752 votes.
After Gallagher resigned, Queens Republicans hoped to hold onto their only council seat in the borough, and the Queens County Republican Party backed Como over Ognibene for the seat.
Como, who started his political career as an aide to State Senator Serphin Maltese, has served as a prosecutor in the Queens District Attorney’s Office, counsel to Maltese and most recently a Commissioner for the Queens Office of Board of Elections, before he resigned his position to concentrate fully on the June special election.
“We are going to have a very active and dedicated Councilman working on behalf of his constituents,” Maltese said. “I think the two of us working together we can be even more effective.”
A lifelong Queens resident who currently lives in Middle Village, Como has been actively involved in many community and civic organizations.
“I look forward to working tirelessly for the people of Queens,” Como said.
Once an official winner is declared, that person will serve until November of this year when another election will be held to decide who will serve the remainder of Gallagher’s term.