You are reading

Donovan Richards Maintains Narrow Lead in Queens Borough President Race After Absentee Ballots Tallied

Donovan Richards has a 1,044-vote lead over Elizabeth Crowley in the Democratic primary for Queens BP (Richards For Queens)

July 6, 2021 By Allie Griffin

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards maintained a narrow lead in his bid for re-election after absentee ballots were tallied Tuesday.

Richards, who was sworn into office last year following a special election, is all but certain to serve a full term as borough president now that almost all the votes have been counted.

However, the incumbent nearly lost the primary to former Council Member Elizabeth Crowley—in what would have been a big upset, according to political insiders.

Elizabeth Crowley, candidate for Queens Borough President (campaign photo), is 1,044 votes behind Donovan Richards in the race for the Democratic nomination

Pundits were surprised that Richards was only 3,313 votes ahead of Crowley before 35,550 absentee ballots were counted Tuesday.

Richards’ lead actually narrowed, with just 1,044 votes separating them after absentee ballots were added, according to the ranked choice voting results posted by the Board of Elections Tuesday evening.

The Board of Elections is expected to certify the results sometime next week and they are unlikely to change in any meaningful way.

Richards, who appears to have won the Democratic primary, will likely go on to compete in a November general election for the seat, which he would be almost certain to win given the disproportionate number of registered Democrats to Republicans in the borough.

The Democratic primary for borough president also included a third candidate, Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, who was eliminated in the second round of the ranked choice voting process.

He brought in 29,215 votes, or 17.8 percent of the vote, before he was eliminated and his votes redistributed to the other candidates.

Richards will complete his current term through to the end of the year. Should he win the general election he will serve a full four-year term.

The results after absentee ballots were added (Source: NYC Board of Elections)

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Jamaica teen faces up to 25 years in prison for attacking grandmother heading to church: DA

A 16-year-old Jamaica boy was indicted by a Queens grand jury for shoving a grandmother down the steps of a Jamaica Hills church as she was heading to Sunday mass on the morning of Apr. 7.

The defendant, of 89th Street in Jamaica, was arraigned Wednesday in Queens Supreme Court on a 12-count indictment charging him with first-degree assault and first-degree robbery for attacking 68-year-old Irene Tahliambouris in front of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church and stealing her property and car.

Long Islander ordered to pay restitution for stealing share of Queens Village family home willed to niece: DA

A Long Island man was sentenced Wednesday in Queens Supreme Court for filing fraudulent paperwork to claim he fully owned a Queens Village home when his niece had actually inherited half of it. Wagner Recio, 52, of Butler Boulevard in Elmont, pleaded guilty in December 2022 to filing falsified documents the previous year in order to obtain a mortgage against the value of the Queens Village property and kept the financial proceeds for himself.

According to the charges, Recio and his brother, Alejandro Recio, jointly owned a house on 220th Street in Queens Village as Tenants in Common (TIC), allowing each owner undivided interest to sell, transfer or borrow against their own share in the property.

Queens Village man identified as victim in fatal shooting at South Ozone Park nightclub: NYPD

Homicide detectives from the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park are still investigating the cause of a fatal shooting that occurred early Monday morning in front of a South Ozone Park nightclub. While they have yet to identify the gunman or establish a motive, they have determined the victim’s identity and notified his family.

The NYPD announced on Tuesday evening that Temel Phillips of 102nd Avenue in Queens Village was the man who was shot multiple times in front of the Caribbean Fest Lounge at 116-14 Rockaway Blvd., more than nine miles away from his home.

Op-ed: Making the change: Illegal cannabis stores will now be closed!

May. 1, 2024 By Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato

I am currently writing this in the early hours after intensely debating the State Budget. As your State representative, I have been working to pass fiscal policies that represent the needs of our community. Moments ago, our community scored a tremendous victory as I voted yes and passed into law the hard stance against illegal cannabis shops that we have all asked for. Finally, the law gives law enforcement the ability to close these stores and padlock them shut!

NYC Parks launches new office on Jamaica Bay to keep city waterway safe from derelict vessels

NYC Parks recently began removing abandoned boats from the waters off City Island in the Bronx under the auspices of its new Office of Marine Debris Removal and Vessel Surrendering, which opened in Brooklyn on Apr. 15.

The new headquarters is at Kingsborough Community College in Manhattan Beach, across Jamaica Bay in the Rockaways. This location was chosen following legislation spearheaded by Council Member Joann Ariola, who, after discussions with local community leaders, recognized their longstanding frustrations with bureaucratic obstacles in removing derelict vessels from the bay.