By Rich Bockmann
With the contest to succeed term-limited City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) not yet decided, transit union leader Daneek Miller claimed victory on primary night while attorney Clyde Vanel said he would wait for the paper ballots to be counted before making a declaration.
With 98 percent of precincts reporting by Wednesday afternoon, Miller, Comrie’s hand-picked choice for the seat, led the pack of six Democratic primary candidates with 24.35 percent of votes, according to unofficial results reported by the Associated Press.
Vanel trailed by 396 ballots with 21.79 percent, according to the AP, which had not called the race.
Attorney Joan Flowers, who garnered 21.28 percent of the vote, conceded the race, her campaign said.
Addressing supporters at his campaign headquarters in St. Albans, Miller claimed victory just before midnight Tuesday, thanking a long list of supportive labor unions.
“All the folks in labor, over and over again we showed up and now we have a voice in City Hall,” he said.
Vanel, however, said he would not concede the race until all of the affidavit and emergency paper ballots were tallied, which could take days.
“We’re going to wait until it gets certified. There is less than a 400-vote count difference, and I don’t know how many outstanding ballots there are,” he said. “It’s pretty close.”
Comrie has represented the district, which includes St. Albans, Cambria Heights, Hollis and downtown Jamaica, for 12 years. He said he asked Miller, a longtime friend, to consider replacing him last year.
Vanel is a community activist who last ran for state Assembly in 2011 in an unsuccessful bid against Assemblywoman Barbara Clark (D-Queens Village).
Vanel’s ascension seems to have defied conventional wisdom in a contest that had appeared to be a two-horse race between Miller and the county Democratic Party’s pick, Manny Caughman.
In the first citywide election since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, outside groups poured more money into the race than the candidates spent themselves.
The real estate-backed political action committee Jobs for New York spent $261,533 in support of Caughman, who ended up in fourth place with 17.2 percent of the vote. The PAC also shelled out $28,040 trying to dissuade voters from choosing Vanel and another $38,040 to do the same with Flowers.
A trio of union PACs spent a combined $138,042 in support of Miller. Outside groups spent $460,168 compared to $214,719 by the candidates, according to the most recent figures from the city Campaign Finance Board.
Greg Mays, a Community Board 12 member and founder of the nonprofit A Better Jamaica, netted 11.3 percent of votes and management consultant Sondra Peeden garnered 4.04 percent.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
