Incumbents Win; Voters Stay Home
With only a few exceptions, incumbent Democrats dominated primary races on Tuesday night, Sept. 12, in another election with an extremely low turnout.
Locally, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey turned aside Community Board 5 Second Vice Chairperson Dmytro Fedkowskyj’s challenge for the 30th Assembly District seat.
Turnout in this race was particularly weak. Approximately 2,499 votes were cast, and Markey received 75 percent of them. According to 2010 Census figures, there were 75,220 eligible voters in the 30th District, which covers parts of Astoria, Maspeth, Middle Village, Sunnyside and Woodside.
After successfully surviving challenges in the past three state election cycles, Markey does not have an opponent this November.
State Sen. James Sanders easily bested two challengers to retain the Democratic nomination for the 10th State Senate District seat. Sanders received nearly three-fourths of all votes (5,898); Rosedale businessman Everly Brown finished second with 22 percent (1,736), followed by Gian Jones with 3.6 percent (281).
The 10th Senatorial District covers parts of Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Jamaica, southeastern Queens and the eastern Rockaways.
Another victorious incumbent was State Sen. Martin Malavé Dilan, who easily defeated Debbie Medina to retain the 18th Senatorial District seat covering areas of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Cypress Hills, East Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Williamsburg.
The senator received 58 percent of the vote (5,333) while Medina garnered 42 percent (3,859). He will take on Conservative nominee Jonathan Anderson in the general election.
Former City Council Member Erik Martin Dilan, the state senator’s son, took another step toward returning to public office in winning the Democratic nomination for the vacant 54th Assembly District seat. Nearly three-fifths of all voters marked their ballots for Erik Dilan over his primary opponent, local pastor Kimberly Council; approximately 3,180 votes were cast in a district that reportedly has 67,805 eligible voters.
Erik Dilan will face Republican challenger Khorshed Chowdhury in the November election. The 54th Assembly District, vacated in January by City Council Member Rafael Espinal, covers parts of Bushwick, Cypress Hills and East New York.
State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky also turned aside a challenge from upstart candidate S.J. Jung for the 16th Senatorial District, which is gerrymandered across central Queens and includes parts of Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park andWoodside.
Stavisky took 57 percent of the vote (5,002), while Jung received the remaining 43 percent (3,728).
The lone local incumbent who failed to make it out of the primaries was embattled State Sen. Malcolm Smith, who was handily beaten by Deputy Borough President Leroy Comrie for the 14th Senatorial District nomination.
Comrie won in a landslide, securing 69 percent of the vote (9,314). Smith, who is currently awaiting retrial on federal corruption charges, received 19 percent (2,530), while local attorney Munir Avery came in third with 12 percent (1,577).
The 14th Senatorial District includes parts of Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill and southeastern Queens.
Statewide, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his lieutenant governor nominee, former Rep. Kathy Hochul, weathered a challenge from the upstart tandem of Zephyr Teachout and TimothyWu. In the gubernatorial race, Cuomo secured just over 62 percent of the vote (327,150) to Teachout’s 34 percent (180,336). Hochul, meanwhile, garnered just under 60 percent (300,139, while Wu earned 40 percent (201,134).
The Cuomo-Hochul ticket will face the Republican nominees for governor and lieutenant governor-Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and Chemung County Sheriff ChristopherMoss, respectively- along with third-party nominees in November.
The Nov. 4 general election will also feature the following contests:
– Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the Manhattan Democrat seeking a second term as the state’s chief prosecutor, is facing Republican John Cahill, previously chief of staff to former Gov. George Pataki, and Green Party candidate Ramon Jimenez.
– State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, in his bid for a second term, faces challenges from Republican Onondaga County Comptroller Robert Antonacci and Green Party nominee Theresa Portelli.
– State Sen. Joseph Addabbo of the 15th Senatorial District (parts of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Lindenwood, Howard Beach, Broad Channel and part of the Rockaways) will face Republican attorney Michael Conigliaro.
– All of NewYork’s 27 seats in the House of Representatives will also be up for grabs.
There’s still time to register to vote; for information, call 1-212- VOTE-NYC or visit www.vote.nyc.ny.us.
