Forum With Bayside City Council, Queens BP Candidates On Tuesday

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — In lieu of its general meeting on Tuesday night, a A Bayside civic group is holding a forum with candidates running in two local, general election races.

The Bayside Hills Civic Association is organizing a virtual "Meet the Candidates" event with Linda Lee and James Reilly, who are running for the District 23 City Council seat, as well as incumbent Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Thomas Zmich, who are vying for the Borough President title.

Michael Feiner, the association's president, will moderate the discussion and Q&A session, which will kick off at 8:00 p.m. on Oct. 26 and run for about an hour-and-a-half.

Lee and Reilly are running to represent District 23, which covers the Bayside Hills section of Bayside.

Lee, who won the Democratic primary election this summer, is in line to become the first woman and first Asian American to hold the council seat in District 23, following a primary race that was rife with allegations of sexism. She is largely considered a favorite in the Nov. 2 general election, given the district's Democratic tilt.

Reilly, who is running on the Republican party line, also won a competitive primary in June.

As for the Queens Borough President seat, Richards is a heavy favorite in the general election, given Queens' large Democratic voter base. This election, however, follows a narrow primary victory against Elizabeth Crowley; a race that closely mirrored a contested special election for the seat last year, where Richards beat Crowley by less than 10 percent of the vote.

Zmich is running on the Republican and Conservative Party lines in the race, after the primaries were cancelled in June.

To watch the candidate forum on Oct. 26, click this Zoom link.

In the coming days, Bayside Patch will publish previews of the District 23 and District 19 City Council general elections.