Tony Avella announced he would run against Councilwoman Vickie Paladino in 2023. (QNS file photo)
Tony Avella is a mere 124 votes ahead of fellow candidate Christopher Bae in the race to clinch the Democratic nomination for northeast Queens’ District 19 City Council seat as of Wednesday morning, according to unofficial results from the city’s Board of Elections (BOE).
As of June 28, Avella currently leads Bae and Paul Graziano with 2,243 votes, accounting for 38.97% of the vote. Bae is in a close second place with 2,119 votes (36.81%), while Graziano has received 1,362 votes (23.66%). There have also been 32 write-in votes submitted, accounting for .56% of the votes tallied.
The race is too close to call and will be decided by ranked-choice voting, which had previously been approved of through a citywide ballot measure in 2019. Under this process, voters select their candidates in a preferred order of choice. If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round, the Board of Elections will turn to the votes of lesser, eliminated choices until a majority is received by a candidate.
Once the ranked-choice voting process is complete — and all absentee ballots are counted — the BOE will certify the results and declare a winner, who will then face off against incumbent Councilwoman Vickie Paladino in the general election, scheduled to take place Nov. 7.
“Thank you to everyone that voted today,” Avella said Tuesday night. “The results are in, and we are confident that we will prevail when the ranked-choice voting process is over. As we wait for the final results, we will continue our work to ensure Vickie Paladino is defeated this November.”
Bae could not immediately be reached for comment, but posted an image on social media Tuesday night featuring his supporters, along with the hashtag “#Jobsnotfinished.”
Paladino was elected as the district’s council member in 2021 after defeating Avella in the general election. Her platform…
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