Democrat Phil Wong wants to succeed his boss, outgoing Councilman Bob Holden.
So does Republican Alicia Vaichunas. Holden is also her boss.
Holden — in an unusual, if diplomatic, move — is backing both candidates in Queens District 30, which covers the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park and Ridgewood.
What You Need To Know
Two staffers of outgoing Councilman Bob Holden are running against each other
Holden endorsed both candidates, Democrat Phil Wong and Republican Alicia Vaichunas
Council District 30 in Queens covers the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Ridgewood and Rego Park
On Monday, Wong was near an early voting site in Ridgewood.
As Holden’s constituent services and budget director, he helped agencies and organizations find more funding.
“I think once elected, I’ll be doing that every day, always looking for more resources to improve nonprofits in the district,” Wong said.
On constituent service, Wong said, “Councilman Holden’s model works — every phone call is traced, logged and followed up on. We don’t turn anybody away.”
Vaichunas is Holden’s deputy chief of staff. She joined the office after successfully advocating for parochial students in local high school admissions.
“That’s when Bob asked me, ‘Hey Alicia, wanna work for me?’ And I said, ‘You win, I’ll work for you.'”
Holden is a Democrat, but he won his first race for City Council on the Republican ballot line, defeating the incumbent.
Holden founded the Common Sense Caucus on the council. It’s a group of conservative and moderate lawmakers from the Democratic and Republican parties.
Vaichunas prides herself on keeping tabs on problems in the neighborhood, like loud music and drag racing.
“A lot of them know me as the woman who goes around at night chasing the music, the racing, doing the donuts,” she said outside of her Maspeth campaign office.
Vaichunas even had her son, John, snap a photo of a pothole so she could try to get it fixed.
On policy, Wong says his priority is to recruit more police officers.
“We have several thousand to hire back, and it’s important. [We’ve] got to reduce the response time.”
Vaichunas wants to focus on students with disabilities.
“They are our most vulnerable students, and they’re the ones who always get shafted,” she said.