Queens Civil Court judge ballot set for November

With the results of the June primary certified, Soma Syed has been declared the winner of the Democratic primary for Queens Civil Court judge.

Photo courtesy of Syed

BY Rachel Vick

After a month of waiting, election results have been certified and Queens’ Democratic judicial candidates have been selected.

Cassandra Johnson and Soma Syed were confirmed to have won their respective primaries after the New York City Board of Elections released their final and official counts of all primary races in the city Tuesday.

Johnson and Syed will be on the general election ballot in November after holding onto leads established early in the count.

"Yesterday the New York City Board of Elections certified the results of our historic primary election and our campaign was successful,” Syed’s campaign said in a statement. "Additionally, the people of Queens took a stand against anti-muslim rhetoric and islamophobia by supporting [the] campaign.”

The race between Syed and Queens Democratic Party-endorsed candidate Michael Goldman for a chance to become a Civil Court judge was close, with Syed pulling ahead by 2,482 votes.

The race, unlike those for mayor, City Council, borough president and others, was not a ranked-choice vote.

If elected in the fall, Syed will be the first Bangladeshi and Muslim woman to be elected as judge in New York State.

She said that her success demonstrated the community’s desire to have “representation on the bench that will ensure fair and impartial justice for everyone.”

Johnson, who was running in the Democratic District 4th Municipal Court District, received 28 votes via write-in in Syed and Goldman’s race.

In her official race, she beat the 10,986 votes for independent candidate Devian Shondel Daniels — who conceded the Wednesday after election day — by a margin of over 35,000 votes.

In the November general election, Johnson will face Daniel Kogan, and Syed will be on the ballot against Republican William Shanahan.

Republican Joseph Kasper and democrat Paul Vallone, whose bid was unopposed, will vye for a spot on the bench representing the 3rd District in November.