LIC's District 26 Council Race: Won Faces GOP Nominee Jeffcoat

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — When voters in Long Island City cast ballots in the general election they will see two names on the ballot for the 26th District City Council seat, which represents Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City, Dutch Kills, and parts of Astoria.

One is Julie Won, an IBM consultant and local leader who beat a crowded field of 14 other Democrats this summer, becoming the party's nominee to succeed City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, who mounted an unsuccessful campaign for Queens Borough President after representing District 26 for three terms. Won's opponent is city facility manager Marvin Jeffcoat, the sole candidate who ran as a Republican in the district.

Won will be heavily favored in the Nov. 2 general election given the district's blue electorate, a trend in most of New York City.

Her campaign itself, however, was not uncontested; the District 26 Democratic primary was one of the most crowded citywide. While Won largely led the pack in terms of the local money race and endorsements from Queens officials, she came up against now-Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs, Amit Bagga.

Bagga led the pack in terms of donations from political groups and labor unions, many of which also came out in support of his candidacy — notably including the Working Families Party; the progressive party's Regional Advisory Council endorsed Bagga despite the Queens chapter's recommendation to endorse Won.

Some believed that Bagga was the likely frontrunner in the race, given his funding from outside groups and high-profile endorsements, but Won benefited from ranked choice voting: when two other candidates were cut during the 14th and 15th round of voting Won secured more second-place votes than Bagga, propelling her to an eventual 13-point lead, Patch reported.

Won, whose cited her time on Community Board 2 and her personal experienced during the pandemic as catalysts for her campaign, is running on a progressive platform. She's been an outspoken advocate for high speed internet, housing, and healthcare for all, as well as transportation alternatives.

Jeffcoat, by contrast, is running a campaign centered on more policing, charter schools, and corporate tax cuts for small businesses.

Early voting for the general election, which runs from Oct. 23rd through 31st, is already off to a slow start. Voters can find their poll site and view a sample ballot on the Board of Elections website.

To learn more about each candidate visit each candidate's website: Julie Won, Marvin Jeffcoat.