QUEENS — Two former City Council colleagues are the top candidates in Tuesday's Democratic primary in the race for the Queens borough president, which is being vacated because of term limits.
Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who represents Astoria, and Melinda Katz, a former city councilwoman who represented Forest Hills, are the two leading Democratic candidates in what was a crowded field.
Real estate developer Everly Brown, considered a longshot, is also running. And state Sen. Tony Avella's name is also still on the ballot despite dropping out of the race in August.
Katz has received numerous endorsements, including that of the Queens Democratic Party and from the current borough president, Helen Marshall.
She says her experience on the Land Use Committee while in the City Council — and her work as an aide in the office of former Borough President Claire Shulman — makes her the most qualified for the job.
Vallone, who is the chairman of the council’s Public Safety Committee, has made crime the main issue in his campaign, dubbing himself the borough’s crime-fighting superhero.
The winner will face Republican Tony Arcabascio in November.
