With a month before the election, how much cash does each Council candidate have?

Eagle Photo by Jacob Kaye

By Ryan Schwach

In just under a month, Queens voters will head to the polls to cast votes in their local City Council elections. 

This November, there will be votes cast in 10 Queens districts from Whitestone to Far Rockaway to Long Island City. Though there are exceptions, nearly every incumbent in Queens is poised to face a challenger from the opposing party. 

However, according to campaign finance filings recently released by the city’s Campaign Finance Board, most incumbents are well-positioned to head to victory. 

In nearly every race in the World’s Borough, the incumbent has largely out-raised and out-spent their opponent, several of whom have raised less than $1,000.

While money isn’t the sole determinant in an election, it often shows how much support a candidate is poised to receive on election day, and from whom. Here’s where each candidate in a contested race stands in regards to their finances with a month to go before election day, which takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 7.  

District 19 

By far the most closely watched Queens general election this November will be in the borough’s northernmost neighborhoods in the 19th District, where there will be a contest between incumbent Republican Vickie Paladino and Democratic challenger Tony Avella. 

Avella, a former member of the Independent Democratic Conference in the State Senate and former holder of the D19 seat in the council, is fresh off a relatively close primary election in the summer where he won by three percentage points. Avella’s victory over attorney Christopher Bae in the primary set up the general election against Paladino, a rematch of the 2021 election, the year Paladino first won the seat. 

That 2021 race to succeed former Councilmember Paul Vallone was decided by less than 400 votes and saw Paladino win 47.1 percent to Avella’s 45.7 percent. 

Although Avella has continued to criticize Paladino, who he calls his “right-wing opponent,” the Republican incumbent is so far drastically out-raising and outspending Avella. 

According to city data, Paladino has spent around $237,000, and still has an estimated balance around $101,000. Meanwhile, Avella has spent $215,000 and has just over $60,000 in his balance. 

District 20 

The 20th Council District, which mostly covers Flushing, has been dubbed by some as a close race to watch as a result of shifting political demographics among Asian American voters, who are more frequently casting votes for Republican candidates. 

This year’s race is a rematch from 2021 – Democratic incumbent Sandra Ung faces off against Republican challenger Yu-Ching James Pai. 

In June, Pai defeated local activist Dany Chen in Queens’ lone Republican Primary by 13 percentage points. Although the results were subject to an election fraud lawsuit filed by Chen, the case was ultimately dismissed in court.

Ung faced Pai once before in 2021 when she succeeded fellow Democrat Peter Koo. In that election, Ung won by nearly 20 percentage points. 

Currently, Ung is outspending her Republican opponent. As of Wednesday, Ung has spent $79,688 and still has a balance of $179,820. Pai has just over $100,000 still on hand. 

Although some see the changing demographics as a warning sign for Ung, the Republican primary in June only saw 1,457 votes cast, which is only 11 percent of the total votes cast in the 2021 general election where Ung won. 

Chen does remain in the race however, under the “Better Flushing” Party, and maintains just over $99,000 in his war chest, just a few thousand behind Pai. 

District 22 

Progressive incumbent Tiffany Cabán has a challenger as well in Western Queens in Republican Kelly Klingman. 

In the primary, Cabán defeated retired NYPD officer Charles Castro by the widest margin of any primary race in all five boroughs. 

She now goes up against Klingman, an Astoria real-estate broker, with nearly three times as much funds in her campaign’s pockets than Klingman’s.  

On Wednesday, Caban had spent over $100,000 and had around $182,000 in her campaign fund. Klingman had spent around $26,000, and maintained a balance of around $55,000. 

District 23 

Some also believe there is a close race to watch in District 23, another district where shifting political demographics among Asian Americans could result in a Republican victory. 

District 23 is currently held by Democratic Councilmember Linda Lee, who is being challenged by landlord and SHSAT advocate Bernard Chow. 

Since the primaries, Chow and Lee have both taken prominent roles challenging the Creedmoor migrant shelter, which was erected over the summer. 

As of Wednesday, Lee has far outspent Chow, but Chow has more money still on hand. 

Lee has spent nearly $280,000 in the race – among the highest citywide – to Chow’s $65,400. However, Chow still has $135,000 in the bank to Lee’s $88,000. 

District 24 

In South Queens’ District 24, incumbent Democrat James Gennaro is running against Republican firebrand John David Rinaldi. 

Rinaldi, who garnered attention earlier this year for his prolific sperm donation habits, has become more known recently for his alleged attacks on sitting politicians and protestors. Rinaldi has been recorded yelling at Mayor Eric Adams and accusing pro-migrant protesters of supporting child trafficking. According to reporting by City & State, several elected officials have gone to law enforcement over what they believe to be threats made against them by Rinaldi. 

While Rinaldi has received attention for his behavior, he is still vastly underperforming his incumbent opponent in the fundraising game. 

Currently, Rinaldi spent more than he’s raised according to finance data, which says he has spent $7,360, while only reporting $582 in private funds. 

On the other hand, Gennaro has around $138,000 still on hand after spending around $100,000. 

District 25 

After winning a three-way primary, Parks Committee Chair Shekar Krishnan has a general election challenger in Republican Zhile Cao. 

Currently, Cao, who has been described as a “progressive Republican” has $120 left in his balance, as opposed to Krishnan’s $30,000.

District 26

There is another council rematch brewing in Long Island City and Sunnyside between incumbent Democrat Julie Won and Republican challenger Marvin Jeffcoat. 

Won is coming off a decisive primary victory over local activist Haillie Kim, a primary race that some analysts believed would be close. Won’s win sets up a rematch with Jeffcoat, who she beat by 55 points in 2021’s general. 

As of Wednesday, Won had spent around $270,000, and Jeffcoat had spent around $77,000. Won still had $86,000 on hand, and Jeffcoat had a little over $5,000. 

District 27

According to finance data, Southeast Queens’ District 27 race has very little money attached to it. 

Incumbent Democrat Nantasha Williams has about $13,000 left in the bank after spending $58,499, and her opponent, former NYPD officer Marilyn Miller has no money reported on the city finance board site. 

District 28

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams also has a general election opponent in law school graduate Rusat Ramgopal. Adams has so far spent more than any other city council campaign, having spent $341,788 of her $659,051 in private funds. 

On the other side, Ramgopal has spent around $13,000 of his $15,000 in private funds. 

District 29

After what many thought would be a close primary, Councilmember Lynn Schulman will face off against perennial Republican candidate Daniel Maio in the general election. 

Schulman defeated Democratic challengers Ethan Felder and Sukhi Singh in a three-way primary over the summer, and still has around $70,000 on hand after spending around $267,000. 

Maio has only a little more than a thousand dollars, and reported just over three grand in private funds.  

Singh remains in the race as a third party candidate, and has around $20,000 on hand. 

District 31 

Down in Far Rockaway and Southeast Queens, Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers lines up against former plastic surgeon and Republican candidate Daniella May. 

There were no primaries for either party over the summer in the district. 

So far, May has begun showing up more at local Republican events, but is seemingly running out of money. According to data, May has raised $29,077 and has spent nearly all of that, leaving her with $981 on hand. 

Brooks-Powers maintains $73,000 in the bank after spending around $97,000 in the race.

Correction: An earlier version of this story listed Rusat Ramgopal as an attorney. Though Ramgopal is a law school graduate, he is not a licensed attorney in New York.