Queens Borough President Candidates Sue Over Canceled Election

QUEENS, NY — Two candidates for Queens borough president are suing Gov. Andrew Cuomo over his decision to cancel a special election for the position.

Dao Yin, a businessman living in Bayside, and former Queens prosecutor Jim Quinn filed lawsuits accusing the governor of unlawfully and unconstitutionally interfering with the election with his executive order, which nixed the nonpartisan special election but not a Democratic primary for the position that would've happened on the same day.

The decision threw Quinn off the ballot, because he did not file petitions to become a candidate on a party line, according to campaign spokesperson Jessica Proud.

"Absent immediate relief here, I will lose my chance to run for the political office for which I was duly qualified to be on the ballot under the Election Law, and thousands of New Yorkers will lose ballot access for this important local election," Quinn wrote in a petition filed in Queens Supreme Court.

The special election to determine a replacement for now-Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz was supposed to happen in March, but it was delayed until June 23 — the same day as the Democratic primary for the same position — due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Thanks to a quirk in local election laws, the nonpartisan special election was meant to fill the role for the rest of this year, and primary and general elections this year would determine who serves the remainder of Katz's term.

As a result of Cuomo's executive order, the winner of the June 23 Democratic primary will face off against the uncontested Republican nominee, Queens GOP Chair Joann Ariola, in November to decide who is the next borough president.

“The non-partisan Special Election is mandated by the New York City Charter, and Cuomo’s attempt to cancel it means that only registered Democrats would be able to vote in an upcoming primary for Queens Borough President,” Aaron Foldenauer, Yin’s attorney, said in a statement. “This would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Queens voters and virtually ensure that a candidate supported by Cuomo’s political machine would prevail.”