Queens election results: Incumbents cruise to victory

Queens incumbents cruised to victory on Tuesday, nov. 7, 2023. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye

By Jacob Kaye

Queens incumbents cruised to victory Tuesday following a sleepy general election in the World’s Borough where few races were contentious and even fewer competitive.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz easily bested a pair of challengers, including one whom she beat by a significant margin during the Democratic primary election. City councilmembers from Astoria to Glen Oaks beat out challengers by mostly wide margins. Even those expected to be locked in tight contests showed little sign of struggle.

Democratic Councilmembers Sandra Ung, Linda Lee, Jim Gennaro, Shekar Krishnan, Julie Won, Nantasha Williiams, Adrienne Adams, Lynn Schulman, Selvena Brooks-Powers and Jennifer Gutierrez all handedly staved off challenges from Republican candidates.

Ung and Lee were both leading their Republican challengers by over 20 percentage points on Tuesday night, despite murmurs that both Democrats could potentially be upset in their respective districts, both of which have grown increasingly conservative in recent years.

Three of the borough’s councilmembers – Francisco Moya, Joann Ariola and Robert Holden – were elected after running unopposed.

As for the most closely watched race in the borough – Republican City Councilmember Vickie Paladino was beating Democratic challenger Tony Avella by a little more than 20 percentage points with around 99 percent of ballots counted on Tuesday night, a far larger margin of victory expected in the district once represented by the challenger. Avella, who lost to Paladino by around 400 votes in 2021, conceded around a half hour after the polls closed at 9 p.m.

Speaking at Paladino’s victory party, her son and spokesperson, Thomas Paladino – who was accused by Avella of associating with members of the far-right group the Proud Boys – said that the “race was never what the media made it out to be.”

“We won this race from the day it was announced,” the lawmaker’s son said.

Avella, who did not host an election night party, kept his concession brief.

“Although the election didn't go the way I hoped, I want to thank all of the people who have supported me over the years,” he said. “I am grateful for each and every one of you.”

Avella, who only slightly beat out candidate Christopher Bae during the Democratic primary election for the seat earlier this year, didn’t perform exceptionally well in any part of the district.

Of the four Assembly districts within the Council district, Avella won one, and only by a little more than 40 votes.

Paladino’s smallest margin of victory in any one Assembly district was 586 votes, and her largest was by nearly 2,000 votes.

“What we showed the city of New York was that we all came together,” Paladino said on Tuesday night. “This is about accomplishing what people think you cannot get done.”

But Paladino’s victory seemed to be less of a statement in support of the Republican or conservative party and more in support of incumbents throughout the borough.

Hoping to garner GOP support was George Grasso and Michael Mossa, who respectively were running on the “Public Safety” party line and the Republican party line for Queens district attorney.

But Katz, who was largely expected to come out on top in her bid for reelection, did just that.

With around 97 percent of ballots counted in the race, Katz held nearly 67 percent of the vote over her two challengers on Wednesday morning. Katz, who far outraised and outspent her two opponents, declared victory around an hour after the polls closed.

“I want to thank the voters for once more entrusting me with this office, in a time when so many people are deeply concerned about both the integrity of our criminal justice system and about their personal safety,” Katz said in a statement. “It is an awesome responsibility, but one that I am honored to take on for the people of this great borough.”

“For now, this campaign is over, and I am so grateful and thankful for every supporter, volunteer and voter who made this win possible,” she added.

Grasso, who formerly worked alongside Katz as the administrative judge of Queens Supreme Court, Criminal Term, congratulated Katz in a concession statement issued on Wednesday. However, he continued to call for the state to scale back its criminal reforms and blamed low turnout among Queens voters for the loss.

“​​While I concede this election, I do not concede my view that egregious errors have been made with respect to public safety in our city and state over the past several years. Because of that, I will continue to be a voice for what I believe to be right,” he said.

“Additionally, this process has highlighted my concern over very low turnout elections,” he added. “Apathy was our toughest opponent. We can’t make meaningful political change if people aren’t informed and engaged.”

In all, around 145,500 Queens residents voted in the race, or around 1,000 times fewer than the number of voters who just cast ballots for Katz in her first bid for the seat in 2019 – there were around 200,000 votes cast in the DA’s race that year.

A potential GOP upset also did not come in the race for the vacancy on the Civil Court in the 6th Municipal District.

Perennial Republican candidate William Shanahan was trailing Democratic candidate Evelyn Gong by a little more than 1,000 votes on Wednesday with 98 percent of ballots counted. Shanahan was found to be qualified for the judicial seat by the New York City and Queens County Bar Associations and Gong was not.

Though the 6th Municipal District overlaps heavily with Council District 19, Paladino’s victory was not enough to push Shanahan over the finish line.

In addition to Gong, all Democratic judicial candidates facing Republican challengers won their races on Tuesday.

Click here for updated, unofficial results from the city’s Board of Elections.