By Tom Momberg
Rebecca Lynch is still in the running in the general election for the vacant eastern Queens City Council seat, but she has not said whether she would still be mounting a campaign.
Three candidates representing four different party lines will be on the ballot to replace Mark Weprin for the 23rd City Council District seat in the city’s off-year general election on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Joe Concannon, a retired NYPD captain, Air Force veteran and cyber security entrepreneur, will be running on both the Republican and Conservative party lines.
Lynch, the former assistant commissioner for the mayor’s community affairs unit, will be on the ballot for the Working Families Party.
And former state Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik, currently on leave from an administrative position with the borough president, will be running on the Democratic Party line he secured in the September primary against Lynch and four other candidates, snatching up nearly 28 percent of the 6,740 votes that were cast.
Each of them will be vying to represent the diverse eastern Queens neighborhoods of Bellerose, Glen Oaks, Floral Park, Bayside Hills, Hollis Hills and parts of Queens Village in a seat that has been vacant since June.
Lynch’s campaign has been somewhat inactive since the primary, during which she got about 20 percent of the district’s votes—fewer than runner-up Bob Friedrich, who secured 23 percent.
Lynch submitted petitions to run on both the Democratic and Working Families party lines in July. She had no opponents on the Working Families Party ballot.
When asked if Lynch would continue her campaign to try to take the Council seat in the general election, her campaign office replied by sidestepping the question.
“Right now, we are focused on thanking our amazing supporters for their tireless efforts during the Democratic primary,” Lynch said in a statement. “We congratulate Mr. Grodenchik on his victory and look forward to hearing more about his platform for helping Council District 23 seniors and families during the general election.”
Lynch, who got great support and a number of endorsements from labor unions before the primary, cannot be removed from the ballot under city Board of Elections rules, so she will be on the ballot. The only way a candidate can be removed from the ballot is by death, disqualification or, in the case of Supreme Court nominees, by declining the line after being nominated, according to the BOE.
When asked if there were some party politics at play between Grodenchik and Lynch preventing her from continuing her campaign, a spokesman for Working Families Party gave a limited response.
“We’re very proud to have supported Rebecca in the primary, but we don’t believe she is continuing to campaign in the general,” the spokesman said.
The Queens County Democratic Committee did not respond to requests for comment.
District residents will have three candidates to choose from in November, but are likely to only see active campaigns from two of them.
Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomb
