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In Primaries Scandal Hurts Some, But Not All, Embattled Pols
By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 14, 2012
Modified Sep 14, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Sep 14, 2012
Modified Sep 14, 2012
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Scandal hurt some pols in yesterday's primary election—but not all of them. While embattled Queens State Senator Shirley Huntley and Bronx Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera were both defeated in their respective races yesterday, Brooklyn Assemblyman William Boyland Jr.—no stranger to scandal—managed sneak in a victory thanks to the fact he was facing eight challengers.
Of course, this being a primary election where many had new poling places that was also held on a Thursday (because of 9/11) the numbers we are talking about are all pretty small. Shirley Huntley was defeated by James Sanders by just 1,502 votes (4,979 to 3,477) and Rivera was defeated by Marck Gjonaj by just 513 votes (2,407 to 1,894, with 356 other votes going to Adam Bermudez and Irene Rukaj). Meanwhile, Boyland won in the 55th District with 1,532 votes (just 37 percent)!
The other big story in yesterday's primary was the fallout from New York's legalization of gay marriage. But what exactly it is has not fully been revealed. While Mark Grisanti—the Republican from District 60 who voted for legalization and got some incredible attack ads for it—handily won in his race the fates of similarly pro-gay Senators Roy J. MCDonald and Stephen M. Saland are still too close to call.
Meanwhile, in other gay-related election news. City Councilman Eric Ulrich beat Juan Reyes 70 percent to 30 percent, a nice rebuke to an anti-gay mailer that Reyes had sent out to Queens citizens mocking Ulrich for having dinner with and hiring gays.
Want more? You can check out the full results—some of which are still being decided—right over here.
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Garth Johnston
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