By Dustin Brown
Democrat Eric Gioia met widespread expectations and coasted to a landslide victory against Green Party candidate Ann Eagan Tuesday night in the race to succeed City Councilman Walter McCaffrey (D-Woodside), who was barred by term limits from running for reelection.
With 90 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial results reported in the New York Post showed Gioia had 93 percent of the vote, compared to 7 percent garnered by Eagan.
The 26th Council District extends from Long Island City through Woodside, Sunnyside and parts of Maspeth.
Gioia’s success in the general election was all but sealed by his showing in the Democratic primary, where he garnered more than twice the votes of his closest rival, pulling 43 percent in a crowded field of five candidates.
When asked to comment on the race Tuesday morning, McCaffrey responded that “there is no race,” discounting the threat posed by Eagan’s candidacy and virtually handing the seat to Gioia.
“The people have spoken,” he said of the September primary results.
Among his competitors in September were Joseph Conley, the longtime chairman of Community Board 2, and Matthew Farrell, the chief of staff to City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills).
While Conley received the backing of incumbent McCaffrey and Farrell had the endorsement of the powerful Queens County Democratic Organization, Gioia picked up a litany of union nods and showed he had widespread support in the neighborhood.
Gioia, a 29-year-old attorney from Woodside who coordinated Al Gore’s New York presidential campaign and served in Bill Clinton’s White House, focused his candidacy on the understanding of local issues he developed through his family’s long-standing history in the neighborhood.
In the last week of the campaign trail, Gioia said his attention remained focused on “building better schools, making the streets safer, and finding ways for people to live more affordably.”
Eagan ran a spirited campaign for a seat she realized would be a longshot to win, pushing the issues of protecting the environment, developing more affordable housing and improving public education.
She said an important element of her candidacy was to offer voters a choice in a neighborhood that is overwhelmingly Democratic.
In an interview before the primary election, McCaffrey cited land use as a top priority in his district — which includes a rezoned area of Long Island City expected to become a major business district. But he said education and senior-citizen concerns were also pressing issues.
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
