Queens’ wacky write-in votes from a historic election
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Knicks Guard Jalen Brunson, Mickey Mouse and former Mayor Ed Koch all got write-in votes from Queens residents in November’s election. AP file photos by Nell Redmond, Ted Shaffrey and Seth Wenig.
By Ryan Schwach
What would a Mickey Mouse mayoralty look like? What if a cat served in the City Council?
A few Queens voters were willing to use their ballot to find out.
Last month, 544,603 Queens residents cast their vote in a historic city election that ended with Queens resident, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, being elected mayor of New York City.
While a majority of voters in Queens cast a ballot for Mamdani, others voted for former Governor Andrew Cuomo or Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
But a handful of those 544,603 voters got a little more creative.
In the mayor’s race, some Queens voters wrote in some legitimate names for the job.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who ran for mayor in the Democratic primary, got 51 write-in votes in her home borough and 192 citywide.
Comptroller Brad Lander got 105 in Queens and 1,209 citywide. Bard Lander, perhaps the comptroller’s musically inclined alter-ego, got one vote.
Others hoped Barack Obama would come out of political retirement and serve as the mayor of America’s largest city. The former president received four votes in Queens.
Some voters longed for the good ol’ days, even those who were in charge then have long departed.
Former Mayor Ed Koch got a vote, as did Franklin Roosevelt.
A dozen Queens voters saw Andrew Cuomo’s name on the ballot and decided to vote for his late father, former Governor Mario Cuomo.
Some voters turned their eyes toward their New York sports heroes.
New York Knicks Captain Jalen Brunson got three votes in Queens and 27 citywide.
Pete Alonso, the Mets slugger who is currently a free agent, got two votes for mayor in the Amazins’ home borough, and three for borough president. His teammate, Juan Soto, got two votes for BP.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards was on the ballot himself, up for re-election as the borough’s executive.
He won another term, but also got one write in vote for mayor from a voter in Manhattan.
One voter wanted to give the BP another term in office but appeared to struggle with the spelling of his name. Dorvovans Richardstiz received one write-in vote.
A Queens voter, perhaps hoping to launch an invasion of Brooklyn, wrote in Mongolian conqueror Genghis Khan for BP.
In a local race, Leo Namuche, a feline from Ridgewood whose owner had launched a write-in campaign for their cat in the race to succeed Councilmember Bob Holden in City Council District 30, managed to get some traction.
Leo got 267 votes to serve in the Council. He officially placed third in the race.
Mickey Mouse, who routinely receives write-in votes in nearly every election, will have to bring in some new political strategy if he hopes to finally ascend to office. Disney’s mouse mascot received two votes for mayor, and a few for BP. Oh, boy!
