Assembly Democrats spend big to save Simotas’ seat in Astoria
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The absentee ballot count is underway in the Democratic primary in Assembly District 36, where Zohran Mamdani (left) led incumbent Aravella Simotas (right) by 589 votes on Election Day. Photos courtesy of the campaigns
By David Brand
UPDATE, June 21 8:29 a.m. — This story has been updated with an additional response from Simotas.
The party committee that boosts vulnerable Assembly Democrats is spending big to stop a socialist from winning a seat in Astoria.
The New York State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee sunk $125,000 into incumbent Assemblymember Aravella Simotas’ campaign on June 15, eight days before her June 23 primary against Democratic Socialists of America-backed housing organizer Zohran Mamdani, financial disclosure records show.
Despite the cash drop, Mamdani received 589 more in-person votes than Simotas on election day, according to Board of Elections results. He led the in-person vote tally 4,228 to 3,639, with more than 8,000 absentee ballots being counted today.
After receiving the DACC money, Simotas hired election lawyer, Stanley Schlein, a prominent real estate lobbyist with close ties to Speaker Carl Heastie. Heastie also serves as “honorary chair” of the DACC. The Indypendent first reported on the Schlein hiring.
Simotas has also retained the law firm Greenberg Traurig to represent her in the absentee ballot count underway at Queens Borough Hall. She did not address her decision to hire Schlein, a powerful figure in the Bronx and elswhere in New York City politics, when questioned by the Eagle.
“I retained Greenberg Traurig, a very competent and trusted firm with extensive experience in election law,” she said. “I retained its counsel because I am determined to fight for a fair, democratic process where every vote is counted.”
The DACC and Heastie’s office did not respond to emails seeking comment. Schlein did not respond to a phone call.
Financial disclosure reports indicate that Simotas has so far paid Greenberg Traurig $5,000. The reports did not include information about payments to Schlein.
Progressive strategist Neal Kwatra said hiring Schlein, a fixer from the Bronx with deep ties to the political establishment, raises eyebrows in a progressive area like Astoria’s 36th Assembly District, where voters have moved further left in recent years.
“I always think of calling a lawyer from the Bronx to litigate a fight in Queens,” Kwatra quipped.
Mamdani blasted the DACC’s big spending in a statement.
"With a single donation one week before election day, the Albany establishment provided our opponent with more than half of the total amount our own campaign raised the entire cycle,” Mamdani said. “That's in addition to the tens of thousands of dollars she received from lobbyists, special interests and corporate PACs associated with the Queens Machine and Democratic leadership.”
He has criticized Simotas for taking money from real estate developers in the past and for not going far enough to support tenants, though she co-sponsored every bill in last year’s pro-tenant Housing Justice for All package. During her time in Albany, Simotas has also worked on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse and harassment.
In the run-up to the election, Mamdani pointed out that Simotas took money from developer George Tsunis in violation of her pledge to reject real estate money. Simotas countered that Tsunis is a hotelier, not a housing developer.
She accused Mamdani’s campaign of spreading misinformation. “I am a person of my word and I would not go back on a pledge,” Simotas said.
A political action committee representing Uber and Lyft also placed ads on Spotify supporting Simotas and calling Mamdani an “extremist.”
Mamdani is the only Queens Assembly candidate endorsed by the DSA, which scored a major victory last week when challenger Marcela Mitaynes defeated veteran incumbent Felix Ortiz in the Democratic primary for an Assembly seat in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park.
UPDATE: Simotas said she has had no contact with Schlein, who was listed as one of her lawyers on documents served to the Mamdani campaign ahead of the vote count as part of a preemptive lawsuit to review disqualified absentee ballots. She said DACC did not encourage her to hire Schlein as her lawyer.
“The notion of a quid pro quo is ludicrous. It’s based on fantasy,” she said. “I have never spoken to DACC about representation.”
“I have never had a conversation with Stanley Schlein about representation,” she added.
