Richards taps Silva to manage reelection campaign after backing rival in Queens council race

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards (left) has hired his former chief of staff Manny Silva (right) to manage his reelection campaign. Photo courtesy of Silva

By David Brand

No hard feelings here.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards has tapped his former chief of staff Manny Silva as his reelection campaign manager, two months after endorsing one of Silva’s opponents in the special election to fill his old council seat. 

“I’ve seen Manny display a level of knowledge and commitment that is hard to find in government,” Richards said. “After serving on the community board, managing non-profits, then being my chief of staff in the city council, Manny ran a good campaign with a level of energy we want to see around the borough.”

Richards vacated his seat in Council District 31 after taking over as borough president in December 2020.  The district includes parts of Southeast Queens and the eastern portion of the Rockaway Peninsula.

He backed eventual victor Selvena Brooks-Powers in the crowded special election for the Council seat. Silva finished in third place behind Pesach Osina. Brooks-Powers is running again in the June primary for a full term.

It’s not the first time Richards buried the hatchet in the wake of an election. After he defeated Osina in a tight 2013 special for the Queens council seat, Richards hired his former foe to work for him. 

“We heal quick,” he told the Observer at the time.

Richards won last year’s primary and general election for the open seat in Borough Hall after a March special election to replace former Borough President Melinda Katz was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This time around, he faces formidable primary challenges from Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer and former Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, who finished second to Richards in last year’s Democratic contest.