Who – and what – is on the ballot in Queens?
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Early voting in this year’s general election began on Saturday. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye
By Jacob Kaye and Ryan Schwach
Without a doubt, the biggest race on the minds of Queens voters in this November’s general election will be the one at the top of the ticket.
The race for the U.S. presidency between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will likely bring out a record number of voters, and have major impacts on races all the way down the ballot.
But in Queens, many of those down ballot races have their own intrigue.
Though Democratic voters outnumber Republicans seven to one in the World’s Borough, each of Queens’ Democratic incumbent congressional representatives are facing a challenge from a Republican opponent. There are also nine contested races for Queens Assembly seats and five contested races for spots in the State Senate.
Around a dozen judicial seats are also on the ballot, including the race for the powerful Surrogate’s Court judge, which the Democratic party has been in control of for decades.
Early voting for the upcoming general election began on Saturday, Oct. 26 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 3. The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
For information about early voting, absentee voting, poll sites, what your ballot may look like and more, head to vote.nyc.
Congress
3rd Congressional District (Parts of Little Neck, Whitestone, Glen Oaks, Floral Park and Queens Village, and Nassau County)
Tom Suozzi (D) vs. Michael LiPetri Jr. (R)
Rep. Tom Suozzi is running for reelection to New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which he has represented since February. Suozzi won a special election for the seat earlier this year after the former office holder, George Santos, was expelled from Congress. Suozzi also represented the district for the seven years prior to Santos’ election, which came when Suozzi attempted a failed bid for New York governor.
Michael LiPetri Jr. is a former New York assemblymember who was selected by the local Republican party to run on the party’s line after their previous candidate, Mazi Pilip, lost to Suozzi in the February special election.
5th Congressional District (Parts of Queens including Jamaica, Laurelton, Queens Village, Richmond Hill, St. Albans, South Ozone Park and the Rockaway Peninsula)
Gregory Meeks (D) vs. Paul King (R)
Rep. Gregory Meeks, who leads the Queens County Democratic Party, faces a challenge from Belle Harbor Republican Paul King. King previously challenged the powerful congressional representative in 2022, and lost by 70,000 votes, or about 50 percentage points.
6th Congressional District (Parts of Auburndale, Bayside, Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills, Glendale, Kew Gardens, Maspeth, Middle Village, Murray Hill and Rego Park)
Grace Meng (D) vs. Thomas Zmich (R)
Incumbent Grace Meng faces a challenge from perennial Republican candidate Thomas Zmich. Meng, who has been in Congress since 2012, has beaten Zmich twice before. Two years ago, she defeated him by around 30 percentage points. She also beat him by around the same margin in 2020.
7th Congressional District (Parts of Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside, Maspeth, Ridgewood and Woodhaven, as well as parts of North and Central Brooklyn)
Nydia Velazquez (D) vs. William Kregler (R)
Nydia Velazquez, the powerful Democratic incumbent, faces a challenge from William Kregler, a former fire marshall from Woodside. It’s not Kregler’s first bid for office – he also ran for borough president in 2017. Velazquez has been in office since 1993 and has never truly come close to losing her seat in a general election. In 2022, her Republican opponent, Juan Pagan, got a little less than 20 percent of the vote.
14th Congressional District (Astoria, College Point, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Woodside in Queens, and parts of the South and Eastern Bronx)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) vs. Tina Forte (R)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is seeking her fourth term in Congress. Eight years after delivering one of the greatest upsets in Queens’ electoral history, AOC is one of the most notable elected officials in all of the U.S. Tina Forte, Ocasio-Cortez’s Republican challenger, has run for the seat in the past. Forte won around 27 percent of the vote, to AOC’s 70 percent in 2022.
State Assembly
District 23 (The Rockaways, Broad Channel, Howard Beach, Ozone Park)
Stacey Pheffer Amato (D) vs. Thomas Sullivan (R)
The most closely watched race in Queens is located on the far-flung Rockaway peninsula.
The race will be a rematch between Republican challenger Tom Sullivan, and Democrat Stacey Pheffer Amato, who’s race in 2022 came down to 15 votes after months of legal challenges.
While Pheffer Amato has the larger share of the cash, having spent over $124,000, Sullivan, a U.S Army veteran and small business owner, has not been stingy. He has campaigned more in this race than he did in 2022, and has spent $108,705 this campaign cycle, which is more than 13 times what he spent by the same time in the campaign in 2022. The Republican currently has $82,503 in the bank.
District 24 (Oakland Gardens, Hollis Hills, Holliswood, Jamaica Hills, Briarwood, Richmond Hill, South Richmond Hill)
David Weprin (D) vs. Ruben Cruz (R)
Longtime, multi-generational representative, Assemblymember David Weprin has a race against local activist Ruben Cruz.
Cruz is listed as a candidate by the Queens GOP, but has no biography or campaign site. He ran unsuccessfully for State Senate against John Liu in 2022, and is a member of local Community Board 9.
District 25 (Flushing, Queensboro Hill, Fresh Meadows, Bayside, Oakland Gardens, Auberndale)
Nily Rozic (D) vs. Kenneth Paek (R)
Assemblymember Nily Rozic also has a potentially close race against Republican Kenneth Paek, who is backed by the Queens GOP.
Paek is a retired NYPD officer running his first campaign, and Rozic won her 2022 race by around 15 percent of the vote.
District 26 (Bellerose, Glen Oaks, Douglaston, Little Neck, Bayside, Bay Terrace, Flushing)
Edward Braunstein (D) vs. Robert Speranza (R)
Eastern Queens Assemblymember Edward Braunstein has a race against Republican Robert Speranza in a rematch of 2022.
Two years ago, Speranza lost by around 3,000 votes. Speranza is a former NYPD cop, and is not endorsed by the Queens GOP. He has about $5,000 in the bank, and Braunstein has close to $38,000.
District 27 (Whitestone, Beechhurst, College Point, Flushing, Kew Gardens Hills)
Sam Berger (D) vs. Angelo King (R)
The Assembly’s newest and youngest member, Sam Berger, has his second race in a year come November. Last December, he beat Republican David Hirsch in a special election to replace Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal, who resigned to enter the private sector.
Berger won that race by 11 points, and now faces off against Angelo King. King, a former electrician, unsuccessfully ran against Rosenthal in 2022. He currently has only received $50 in contributions.
District 29 (Laurelton, Rosedale, St. Albans, Addisleigh Park, Hollis, Springfield Gardens, Jamaica)
Alicia Hyndman (D) vs. Dwayne Moore (R)
In Southeast Queens, Democrat Alicia Hyndman will run against Republican challenger Dwayne Moore.
Moore is a county committee member and a former educator and actor. He is backed by the Queens GOP, and other Republican candidates have described him as “the real deal.”
He has around $13,000 left in the bank for the race, but Hyndman, who has represented the area since 2015, has $37,000 in the bank. This is Hyndman’s first contested race since she was elected.
District 30 (Woodside, Elmhurst, Maspeth, Jackson Heights, Astoria, Middle Village)
Steven Raga (D) vs. Brandon Castro (R)
Assemblymember Steven Raga is running for his Western Queens seat against young 24-year-old upstart Brandon Castro. Castro is backed by the Queens GOP, and recently graduated from Queens College.
He does have an uphill climb against Raga, only spending around $1,500 on the race so far. Raga has spent over $11,000. Raga was first elected in 2022 and is now seeking his second term.
District 40 (Flushing, Linden Hill)
Ron Kim (D) vs. Phillip Shaw Chau Wang (R)
Fresh off a better-than-expected primary victory, Assemblymember Ron Kim now has a general election face off against Flushing doctor Phillip Shaw Chau Wang.
Wang is backed by the Queens GOP, and according to recent filings is vastly outspending Kim in the race. Wang also currently has more money in the bank than Kim, but the incumbent is outraising Wang by nearly two to one.
Although Kim has the momentum in funding and as an incumbent, he only narrowly beat his Republican opponent in 2022, making District 40 a race to watch.
Wang recently made news when he told a Politico reporter that he would get his “Jewish lawyers” to sue the publication if they reported on the fact that he was sued by his landlord for $1 million in unpaid rent. Wang, as well as Queens GOP Chairman Tony Nunziato, defended the statements and insisted they were a compliment.
State Senate
District 10 (Rockaways, Broad Channel, Howard Beach, Rosedale, South Ozone Park, Jamaica, Springfield Gardens, Rochdale)
James Sanders Jr. (D) vs. Michael O’Reilly (R)
In 2022, veteran representative James Sanders ran unopposed, despite redistricting bringing more Republicans into the district. This time, he has an opponent in Marine Corp veteran and onetime congressional candidate Michael O’Reilly.
However, the district still includes Democratic strongholds in Far Rockaway and mainland Southeast Queens.
District 11 (Astoria, College Point, Whitestone, Bay Terrace, Douglaston, Glen Oaks, Floral Park, Bellerose, Hollis Hills, Jamaica)
Toby Ann Stavisky (D) vs. Yiatin Chu (R)
One of the most closely watched races in Queens comes in the strangely-drawn 11th District, which spans from Astoria, down to the Long Island border, then to areas of Jamaica.
In that district, 25-year incumbent Toby Ann Stavisky is running against education activist and GOP-backed Yiatin Chu.
Chu, who has made a name for herself as a legitimate power player as a conservative activist fighting for merit-based education. She has spent more than three times in her race against Stavisky than the previous GOP nominee did in 2022.
District 12 (Astoria, Woodside, Maspeth, Elmhurst, Fresh Pond, Ridgewood, Glendale)
Michael Gianaris (D) vs. Han Khon To (R)
In the 12th Queens Senate District, Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris is on the ballot against Queens GOP-backed medical professional Han Khon To. To has not filed a single campaign disclosure this year, according to state records.
According to the Queens GOP, To is a Vietnamese-born phlebotomist. Gianaris ran unopposed in 2022.
District 15 (Lindenwood Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill, South Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park)
Joseph Addabbo (D) vs. Danniel Maio (R)
In Queens’ District 15, longtime representative Joseph Addabbo is facing off against perennial candidate Danniel Maio. Maio, who has been running unsuccessfully since 2016, lost to Addabbo in 2022 by nearly 8,000 votes. It is an uphill climb for Maio, who is not endorsed by the local Republican party and has less than $100 in his bank account.
District 16 (Flushing, Queensboro Hill, Murray Hill, Linden Hill, Bayside, Fresh Meadows)
John Liu (D) vs. Juan Pagan (R)
Longtime elected official and incumbent John Liu has a race against Juan Pagan, who has previously run as a Democrat. A former Manhattan education official, Pagan also has an uphill climb against one of Queens’ most popular senators, and also only has received a little over $1,000 in contributions to his campaign.
Judicial Races
Surrogate’s Court (Boroughwide)
Cassandra Johnson (D) vs. Stephen Weiner (R)
The race to serve as Queens’ sole Surrogate’s Court judge will be between Queens Supreme Court Justice Cassandra Johnson and Stephen Weiner, a longtime attorney from Sunnyside.
The winner of the race will be elected to a 14-year term atop the court that deals with issues related to guardianships, estates and wills. Surrogate’s Court in New York City is often referred to as one of the last vestiges of “political patronage” in the city, primarily because of the large amounts of money that are often up for question in the court.
For the first time in decades, the race for Queens Surrogate’s Court will include a Republican candidate. Weiner is a longtime attorney from Western Queens who has mostly practiced in trust and estates law. He began his legal career with a number of law firms before launching his own private practice in 1985.
Johnson, who has enjoyed years of support from the Queens County Democratic Party, has seen a swift rise through the ranks of Queens’ judiciary. The Queens native was first elected to Civil Court in 2021. In 2023, she was again selected by the Queens County Democratic Party to run on the party’s line for one of several Supreme Court vacancies in the borough. She won her election, becoming the first Haitian American woman to be elected to a State Supreme Court.
Johnson won the Democratic primary race for Surrogate’s Court in June, beating Civil Court Judge Wendy Li. Though Li held a significant fundraising advantage over Johnson, the Supreme Court justice won the race by nearly 10 percentage points.
Supreme Court (Boroughwide, voters will pick seven candidates)
Democratic candidates Alan Schiff, Delsia Marshall, Sandra Munoz, Andrea Ogle, John Katsanos, Lumarie Maldonado Cruz and Claudia Lanzetta. Republican candidates Gary Muraca and Kathy Wu Parrino. Schiff and Lanzetta will appear under both parties.
Seven candidates for State Supreme Court will be elected to a 14-year term this November.
Unlike Civil Court candidates, Supreme Court candidates do not run in a primary election. Instead, they are selected by a political party to run on that party’s line. This year, the Queens County Democratic Party selected one candidate for each of the seven vacancies on the trial court. The Republican Party nominated two candidates of their own, and cross-endorsed two Democratic candidates.
The Queens Dems voted to nominate Civil Court Supervising Judge Alan Schiff, Civil Court Judges Delsia Marshall, Sandra Munoz, Andrea Ogle, John Katsanos and Acting Supreme Court Justices Lumarie Maldonado Cruz and Claudia Lanzetta to their party line.
The GOP voted to nominate attorneys Gary Muraca and Kathy Wu Parrino to run on their party line. They also voted to cross-endorse Schiff and Lanzetta.
Civil Court (Boroughwide, voters will pick five candidates)
Democratic candidates Amish Doshi, Melissa B. DeBerry, Peter Lane, Glenda Hernandez and Sharifa Nasser-Cuéllar. Republican candidates Stephen Dachtera, Mary-Ann Elizabeth Maloney and William Shanahan. Lane will appear under both parties.
Five candidates for Civil Court will be elected to the local court’s bench this November. Three of the vacancies on the court were created by a recently passed state law, which required local political parties to select candidates for the general election, rather than have them run in a primary.
Democratic attorneys Glenda Hernandez and Sharifa Nasser-Cuéllar won a four-way Democratic primary for two of the court’s vacancies over the summer. Hernandez, who was backed by Democratic party foe, Hiram Monserrate, works as a court attorney and previously worked as a supervising attorney at the Urban Justice Center and as a private attorney representing tenants in Housing Court cases. Nasser-Cuéllar has spent a majority of her career working in matrimonial, family and criminal law. She owned a solo law practice and also worked as a judicial hearing officer for New York City’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.
The Democratic Party selected Amish Doshi, Melissa B. DeBerry, Peter Lane to run for the remaining three vacancies.
Doshi ran alongside Nasser-Cuéllar for the court over the summer but lost his race to Hernandez. Doshi is the founding member and principal attorney for the Doshi Legal Group. He’s mainly practiced in a number of different financial law areas, including creditor’s rights, bankruptcy and commercial litigation.
DeBerry currently serves as the principal law clerk to Queens Supreme Court Justice Cheree Buggs.
Lane, who was also nominated by the Republican Party, has spent a bulk of his career working in the state’s court system. He worked as a principal law clerk to a number of judges in Queens, including the borough’s Surrogate Court judge.
The GOP also nominated Stephen Dachtera and Mary-Ann Elizabeth Maloney to run on their party line for the court.
Dachtera, a graduate of St. John’s University School of Law, is an attorney based in Richmond Hill. He primarily practices real estate law.
Maloney, a graduate of Touro Law, practices law in Brooklyn. She’s admitted to practice law in both New York and New Jersey.
William Shanahan will also appear on the GOP line. Shanahan has run for a judicial position in Queens each of the past three years. The attorney and Queens native, who consistently has earned a “qualified” rating from the local bar associations, never came closer to winning one of his races as he did last year in the race for a vacancy in the Civil Court’s 6th Municipal District. He lost that race by around four percentage points to Evelyn Gong, the Democratic candidate.
Civil Court Municipal District 4 (Central Queens)
Elizabeth Newton (D)
Attorney Elizabeth Newton is running unopposed for a Civil Court seat in the borough’s 4th Municipal District, which covers a portion of Central Queens.
Newton began her legal career by prosecuting child abuse and neglect cases in Family Court as an attorney with the Adminstration for Children Servcies. She went on to work as an attorney with the Legal Aid Society’s civil practice. She currently works as the supervising attorney for the public defense firm’s criminal defense practice.
Ballot Propositions
Proposition 1:“This proposal would protect against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy. It also protects against unequal treatment based on reproductive healthcare and autonomy.
Prop 1, or the New York State Equal Rights Amendment, would add protections into the state’s constitution which would prohibit any discrimination based on the basis of ethnicity, origin, age, disability or sex. It would also provide protections for New Yorkers seeking gender-affirming care.
Proposition 2: “This proposal would amend the City Charter to expand and clarify the Department of Sanitation’s power to clean streets and other City property and require disposal of waste in containers.”
The second proposition would give the city more authority in how, when and where trash is picked up in the city. It would give the DSNY more power to clean up city property like parks and highways. It would strengthen enforcement laws related to illegal street vending.
Proposition 3: “This proposal would amend the City Charter to require fiscal analysis from the Council before hearings and votes on laws, authorize fiscal analysis from the Mayor, and update budget deadlines.”
Proposition 3 would require the City Council to provide cost estimates on potential legislation before voting on them, would force the council to notify the mayor ahead of public hearings on legislation and would extend the city’s budget deadline.
Proposition 4: “This proposal would require additional public notice and time before the City Council votes on laws respecting the public safety operations of the Police, Correction, or Fire Departments.”
Ballot Prop 4 would force the New York City Council to give the mayor a 30-day notice before passing legislation related to public safety. This proposal came out of a spat between the council and the mayor over the How Many Stops law, which increased the NYPD’s reporting on civilian interactions.
Proposition 5: “This proposal would amend the City Charter to require more detail in the annual assessment of City facilities, mandate that facility needs inform capital planning, and update capital planning deadlines.”
Ballot Proposition 5 would increase the detail in annual assessments of city facilities, and would require those facilities to keep up with capital planning and deadlines.
Proposition 6: “This proposal would amend the City Charter to establish the Chief Business Diversity Officer (CBDO), authorize the Mayor to designate the office that issues film permits, and combine archive boards.”
The last proposal would create a new city position to support minority and women-owned businesses, and would give the mayor more power in issuing film permits. It would also merge two boards that manage city records into a single board.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that incumbent Democratic Assemblymember Catalina Cruz was facing a challenge from Republican candidate Ranses Frias. Frias was kicked off the ballot by the Board of Elections. Cruz is running unopposed.
