Queens DA - Bad News for Katz, Democratic Machine, the UFT (so often wrong), Cuomo, Real Estate Interests, etc.

UPDATE 2:
Hi Norm:
I read what you wrote about Caban beating Katz. You might be interested in these articles:

https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2019/06/26/cabans-likely-win-deals-another-big-blow-to-the-queens-machine-1075762

https://theintercept.com/2019/06/07/queens-new-york-district-attorney-race-melinda-katz/

The UFT gave Katz $36,000.

UPDATE1: Let me add this FB comment from Schoolgal about the UFT, which expresses the attitude of many teachers - at least the ones that follow things closely:

Hey UFT! Why did I get so many calls for a DA race? Do you really think I’m gonna buy a plane ticket to vote....illegally.....in NY? And for a woman who folded to give Bloomberg an illegal 3rd term! Glad to see Cuomo, Randi and Mulgrew with egg on their face! Remember when Bloomberg won by a slight margin the year you didn’t back a Democrat! In fact you didn’t back a Democrat against Pataki. Teachers don’t forget! 

And a big win for the AOC wing of the party and the Democratic Socialists (DSA) who I've been writing about and pointing out their ability to put together a grass roots movement that seems to be able to outflank the regular Democrats when they chose to contest. (See the upcoming primary next year between Elliot Engel and Jamal Bowman -Bronx principal Jamaal Bowman running for Congress - https://www.theroot.com/bronx-ny-principal-wins-nod-from-alexandria-ocasio-co-1835674536.)

That adds up to bad news for Katz — and worse news for the Queens Democratic Organization. It would mean that Ocasio-Cortez was not just a blip localized to one congressional district, but rather, that the organizers on the ground have built a movement that may be capable of consistently challenging the establishment. The 2020 primaries are shaping up to be a wild ride! ((Gothamist)

In yesterday's post for The WAVE on the morning of the primary (School Scope: Queens DA, I predicted that Katz would win, especially since the Dem machine, probably seeing the dismal pre-election polling, convinced (or threatened) Rory Lancman to drop out days before the primary (I heard he was offered borough president but imagine if the progressive wing of the party makes a big push for that - and it probably will). It's still neck and neck with Tiffany Cabán leading by a hair. If Katz hadn't picked up the Lancman votes Tiffany's would be even further ahead.

Who supported Katz? She raised lots of money from real estate interests and the UFT was one of the major contributors.

Now what does this mean? I think that the insurgents from the left have shown they can go neck and neck with the regular Democrats aligned with our own lovely UFT which so often picks the wrong side and will continue to pick wrong sides (it's in their DNA.) They will do so again in the 2020 presidential race. The UFT has always fought off the left both internally and externally. They are lucky that the left in the UFT, unlike in other teacher unions, is so inept.

This is Queens, though a much changed borough of Archie Bunker fame. Ooooh, politics as sport -- I turned off the Yankee game to write this - there's a machine that manages to win.

Shocker in Queens DA Race

By Brigid Bergin

Queens district attorney candidate Tiffany Cabán receives her ballot at her polling place in the Queens borough of New York, Tuesday, June 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Scott Wenig)

Cabán Holds Lead Over Katz On the one-year anniversary of political newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's defeat of Congressman Joseph Crowley, voters woke up to the news that another first-time candidate may have upended the political world of Queens Democrats — again. My colleague Beth Fertig was at Tiffany Cabán’s election night party where the 31-year-old appeared to win the Democratic nomination for Queens District Attorney in a tight race against five other candidates, including the Queens County Democratic organization's candidate, Borough President Melinda Katz. Based on the unofficial returns, Cabán ended election night ahead by less than 1,100 votes — with 39.57 percent of the tally compared to Katz’s 38.3 percent. The official count of machine votes and emergency ballots begins today and could drag on throughout the weekend. Staff from the city Board of Elections along with representatives from the campaigns will watch as ballots that could not be scanned at polling sites are run through voting machines at the Queens borough office. This process is unlikely to dramatically shift the current tally unless officials find a large stack of unscanned ballots. That leaves more than 3,000 absentee ballots that the City Board of Elections will begin counting on July 3rd. With seven candidates on the ballot, it’s a stretch to imagine that the overwhelming majority would go to one candidate. That adds up to bad news for Katz — and worse news for the Queens Democratic Organization. It would mean that Ocasio-Cortez was not just a blip localized to one congressional district, but rather, that the organizers on the ground have built a movement that may be capable of consistently challenging the establishment. The 2020 primaries are shaping up to be a wild ride! (Gothamist)