Barry Grodenchik won the open seat for the 23rd City Council District Tuesday night, with a total of 55 percent of votes cast, according to unofficial Board of Election tallies.
“I’m just very humble to have this opportunity to serve the people,” Grodenchik said. “A lot of work ahead…we want to get to work on the issues that were raised in this campaign.”
Council District 23 contains all or parts of Bayside Hills, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens and Queens Village.
Joe Concannon, who ran on the Republican, Conservative and Reform tickets, finished second. According to preliminary results, he received 38 percent of the total votes.
Concannon said that when he congratulated Grodenchik after his win, the Democratic candidate acknowledged the seriousness of the issues in Concannon’s campaign and pledged to champion those causes in City Hall.
“I started my public service career as a police officer,” Concannon said. “I then got into politics because I saw how police weren’t getting the respect they deserve, and that blossomed into a run for public office in which we thought that the main issue was sending a message to the mayor and to the political class of New York City. Tonight that message was heard, not as loud as we might’ve liked, but very clear.”
Rebecca Lynch received seven percent of the vote on the Working Families ticket. Lynch suspended her campaign following her loss to Grodenchik in the September Democratic primary, but remained on the general election ballot.
The City Council District 23 seat was vacated in June by Mark Weprin, who left to become Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s deputy secretary of legislative affairs.
Weprin — who endorsed Grodenchik in both the Democratic primary and the general election — said as a resident he was thrilled about Grodenchik’s win.
“He’s a hard worker, he’s a good man and he’s going to fight like a tiger for the people that he represents,” Weprin said, “and that’s what you want in a City Council member.”
In other Queens elections, Democratic candidate Alicia Hyndman bested Republican Scherie Murray in the race for the vacant 29th Assembly District seat formerly held by William Scarborough and Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown won an unopposed bid for re-election to his seventh term in office.
