Nail-biter in Democratic primary to challenge Vickie Paladino for Queens seat

Former State Sen. Tony Avella’s bid for a rematch against incumbent Councilwoman Vickie Paladino to represent northeast Queens on the City Council appeared to be in jeopardy late Tuesday, partial results from the Board of Elections show.

Avella maintained a razor thin lead with just 39% of the first-round vote in the primary, while challenger Christopher Bae — a former Queens prosecutor and first-generation Korean American — netted 37%, according to results from a counting of 99% of the scanners.

Avella’s third challenger, urban planner Paul Graziano, netted 24%.

That means there are likely a substantial number of ballots in play under the city’s ranked choice voting system for either Avella or Bae to claim, provided voters who backed Graziano marked a second or third choice.

Paladino bested Avella in 2021 as Republicans made in-roads in some outer-borough neighborhoods due to furor and frustration over post-pandemic crime rates and an ultimately aborted proposal to ditch test-based admissions to the Big Apple’s most selective public high schools.

The incumbent has been a lightning rod for controversy since joining the Council, repeatedly landing in hot water.

Democrats have pegged the home-owner rich district as one they believe they can win back in November in part because of Paladino’s numerous controversies.

First, she refused to get vaccinated against COVID, despite policies at the time requiring the shots to enter the Council’s chamber.

Then, she made a string of incendiary statements about drag queens and city-funded programs that hire the performers to read to children, describing cross-dressing as a “degeneracy” and as “grooming” children — the term commonly used to describe how sex offenders initiate contact with their victims.

Proponents say that children love the colorful costumes and big personas the performers bring to story time; while critics charge the gender-bending nature of drag makes it inappropriate.

Experts told The Associated Press the “groomer” attacks — which have become increasingly common — harken back to the baseless charges levied against gay men during earlier decades of ‘recruiting’ or ‘converting’ children.