NEW YORK, NY — Thursday night’s primaries resulted in few surprises, though two out of three incumbents that faced corruption charges — State Senator Shirley Huntley of Queens and Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera of the Bronx — lost their seats, reports Voices of NY. The third incumbent, Brooklyn Assemblyman William F. Boyland, held on, winning 37 percent of the vote.
In the 42nd assembly district, State Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs prevailed over District Leader Rodneyse Bichotte, winning 68 to 32 percent of the vote — though prominent supporters of Bichotte state they observed significant voter frustration among seniors. The night of the primary, Council Member Jumaane Williams released a statement on what he described as “the worst example of voter disenfranchisement” he had ever witnessed.
Voters, many of them seniors, were streaming out of polling sites screaming, cursing and near tears over the frustration they experienced. There are countless stories of voters being told that they were at the wrong polling site; it is understandable that there would be some issues due to redistricting, but with this much confusion the problem clearly was a lack of accessible information. Additionally, numerous voters were not informed of their ability to ask for a affidavit ballot.
More notable highlights from Voices and other community outlets include:
* According to Queens Courier, Huntley, a Democrat, was charged with “tampering, falsifying business records and conspiracy” a few weeks ago. Last night, she lost to Councilmember James Sanders, with 39.9 percent to his 57 percent.
* Newcomer Nily Rozic beat longtime Community Board 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece by 56 percent to 44 percent in Queens’ 25th District in the Democratic primary. From Queens Courier: “This campaign reveals the true believers, the true Democrats, the true feminists, the true progressives, the true reformers and really the true believers in the American dream,” Rozic said. “We really did big things tonight.”
* A month ago, El Diario La Prensa (English translation) profiled Albanian-American candidate Mark Gjonaj, who set out to challenge Rivera in the Democratic primaries. The newcomer dethroned the Puerto Rican Assemblywoman last night by 52 percent to 41 percent thanks to aggressive outreach, a ubiquitous campaign presence, and an investigation by the New York Post into questionable dealings on the part of Rivera.
For more on this story, visit Voices of NY.
