Ranked Choice Vote Count to Start in Southeast Queens Special Election With No Clear Winner Additional reporting by Ben Fractenberg
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Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
The Queens City Council District 31 special election became the city’s first contest triggering ranked choice voting selections after polls closed Tuesday night without any candidate securing a big enough lead to win outright.
Voters cast just under 7,000 in-person ballots in the race to replace former City Council member Donovan Richards, who now serves as borough president. Selvena Brooks-Powers notched about 38% of all first choice votes in early and special election day voting, giving her a 207-vote lead over Pesach Osina, who received 35%, according to the city Board of Elections.
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While millions of dollars have poured into political action committees and independent expenditures for moderate Democrats, a new PAC has launched with the goal of raising up to $5 million for left-leaning mayoral and New York City Council candidates.
The Our City PAC announced its formation on Friday, pledging to back like-minded candidates seeking greater equity surrounding housing, education, public safety, and recovery.
Its roster of political operatives include Gabe Tobias, a senior advisor with the Justice Democrats who worked in the campaigns for former President Barack Obama, New York gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Other members of the brainsource include Abdullah Younus who heads the Democratic Socialists of America s national group and Peter Koechley, co-founder of Upworthy and former managing editor of satirical newspaper, The Onion.
Democrat James Gennaro won the City Council election against Moumita Ahmed. (Facebook via Gennaro, Twitter via Ahmed)
Democrat James Gennaro trounced Moumita Ahmed, the candidate favored by the Democratic Socialists of America, and six other contenders in a Queens City Council election Tuesday.
The real estate industry independently kicked in cash to help Gennaro, who served in the Council in the 2000s.
Unofficial results from the Board of Elections show that Gennaro won 59 percent of the initial vote, while Ahmed drew only 16 percent in the District 24 special election. Ninety-nine percent of the non-absentee ballots have been tallied, giving the former Council member what is likely an insurmountable lead.