Next Tuesday voters from Queens will go to the polls to choose candidates in primaries for citywide offices as well as borough president and the City Council. This is a year when every vote counts and a low turnout will allow a small portion of the electorate to decide who runs City Hall and other major posts for the next four years.
The city has been led by two mayors — one Republican and the other a switch hitter from GOPer to independent — since 1993 and faces a dramatic change with whoever slides into the big desk at City Hall. Term limits, which were extended in 2008, have produced several key vacancies in Queens this year.
Since the ratio of registered Democrats to Republicans in Queens is 4-to-1, the candidates who win the Democratic primary in most of the Council races are virtually guaranteed to be the victors.
The one exception may be the Democratic primary in northeast Queens for the seat to be vacated by Republican Councilman Dan Halloran, who was indicted on bribery charges during his first term in office. The winner will face a Republican. There is only one Republican primary in Queens for mayor, but when the general election rolls around Nov. 5, the GOP challenger to Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley could put up a strong fight.
In the pitched battle for borough president, Democrats Melinda Katz and Peter Vallone offer a clear choice in their differing views of public safety and education. Everly Brown, a fellow Democrat, is considered a long shot. Republican Tony Arcabascio will be on the Republican line in November.
There have been defections along the way in the mayoral contest, but nine Democrats and three Republicans remain on the ballot. New York City has made headlines across the country with two bold names — Anthony Weiner for mayor and Eliot Spitzer for comptroller — in the running. With all the hoopla generated by their candidacies, let’s hope their attempts at personal redemption have at least made New Yorkers more informed about the races.
About 25 percent of the city’s eligible Democrats are expected to vote in next week’s primary compared to a record low of 10 percent in 2009, after the Council reversed course and voted to give Bloomberg a shot at a third term.
That’s still minority rule.
Get off the couch, stash the social media toys and show up to vote.
It’s the right thing to do.
