Richards moves closer to Queens borough president nomination after Crowley concedes

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Councilmember Donovan Richards (left) all but secured the Democratic nomination for Queens borough president after former Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley (right) conceded Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Crowley

Councilmember Donovan Richards (left) all but secured the Democratic nomination for Queens borough president after former Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley (right) conceded Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Crowley

By David Brand

Councilmember Donovan Richards moved one step closer to securing the Democratic nomination for Queens borough president Tuesday after his main rival, Elizabeth Crowley, conceded defeat.

With the absentee ballot count nearly complete, Richards has maintained his lead in the five-candidate race. Crowley received the second highest number of votes and said she called Richards to endorse him Tuesday.

“While the Board of Elections has not officially called the race, and some districts are still getting tallied, the numbers to win are just not with us,” Crowley said. “During these most challenging times, we need unity to bring our great borough together.”

Richards tweeted a brief statement thanking Crowley. He did not immediately respond to a phone call from the Eagle. 

“I admire her commitment to Queens and look forward to working with her to unite our borough moving into November,” Richards tweeted. 

Richards received more than 37 percent of in-person votes in the race to replace former Queens borough president Melinda Katz, now the county’s district attorney. A total of 88,993 Queens residents chose to submit their ballots by mail, with nearly all New York voters eligible to vote absentee. The vote count is likely to finish tomorrow at Queens Borough Hall

Crowley received about 28 percent of the vote at polling sites across Queens. Councilmember Costa Constantinides trails with 15 percent and retired NYPD Sergeant Anthony Miranda picked up 14 percent of the vote. Flushing businessman Dao Yin got about 4.5 percent of the tally.

The vacancy left by Katz was set to be filled in a special election March 24, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a series of executive orders cancelling that contest due to the impact of COVID-19. Acting Borough President Sharon Lee has served since Jan. 1.

Barring some unlikely scenario, Richards will face Republican nominee Joann Ariola in the November general election. Ariola, the chair of the Queens County Republican Party, ran unopposed.