By Stephen Stirling
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall won the Democratic primary in her bid for a third term Tuesday, easily defeating challengers Marc Leavitt and Robert Schwartz in the three-way race for the nomination, unofficial election results show.
The Board of Elections said Marshall trounced Leavitt and Schwartz, pulling in 52,258 votes for more than 71 percent of the votes cast.Leavitt, who spent well over $300,000 in his bid to unseat the two-term incumbent, received 12,294 votes for 16 percent of the vote while Schwartz got just 8,434 votes for 11 percent of the vote.
Marshall has been borough president of Queens since 2001, prior to which she served as a city councilwoman and state assemblywoman in Queens for nearly two decades.
She led a relatively quiet campaign this summer, but said if re-elected she would push hard to increase the number of hospital beds in Queens and continue her support of bolstering minority and women-owned businesses in Queens.
Leavitt, a Sunnyside Democrat and attorney with a reputation for performing what he calls “political satire cabaret,” led a spirited race to unseat Marshall. He said Marshall has not been a good enough cheerleader for the borough and promised to bring more resources to Queens.
Schwartz, a retired Forest Hills businessman, waged an unsuccessful campaign against state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) in 2008.
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at Sstirling@CNGLocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, ext. 138.
