Elizabeth Crowley (Campaign photo)
July 7, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Queens borough president candidate Elizabeth Crowley slammed her opponent’s allegations of racism as “slanderous and untruthful” in a statement Wednesday.
Crowley said there was zero evidence to back up the claims made by incumbent Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who accused her of racism in a series of tweets Tuesday night.
“I’m extremely disappointed by the slanderous and untruthful remarks made by one of my opponents,” she said, without addressing Richards by name. “Politics and campaigning can be tough, and I understand that some may take legitimate policy disagreements personally on the trail.”
Crowley compared Richards’ series of bombshell tweets to what she would expect from former President Donald Trump. Richards tweeted “We beat your racist a**” at her after winning the Democratic primary Tuesday night.
“I’ve always believed that leadership is about taking the high road and representing the people, not Trump-like bullying on Twitter and making unfounded accusations based on no evidence whatsoever,” she said.
Crowley maintained that she ran a “campaign of inclusion and optimism” and reached residents in every corner of Queens.
Richards, who beat Crowley in a special election last year, accused her of repeatedly implying that he won last year’s election for the borough presidency because he was a Black man during a time of increased scrutiny on racism in America.
“Since our victory in the June 2020 Democratic primary, Ms. Crowley has repeatedly insinuated that she would have won if not for the death of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter movement across our country,” he said in a statement.
Richards also alleged that Crowley threatened to run “a divisive and dirty campaign” if he didn’t offer her a job within his administration after his 2020 victory.
“She clearly followed through on that threat, using the politics of fear throughout this race with mailers disguised as eviction notices and racist dog whistles within her messages on public safety,” he said in a statement.
Crowley denied the allegations and said that her campaign “shocked the political establishment with our strong results, against all odds.”
She is behind Richards by a little over a 1,000 votes, according to the Board of Election results released last night.
Many political insiders had incorrectly assumed the election would be an easy win for Richards, who took office last year after winning a special election against Crowley and several others.
Crowley has not conceded yet and instead said her campaign is determining its “next steps” as they evaluate the numbers from the Board of Elections.
She said she refused to be bullied out of ensuring that every vote is counted.
“Strong women should not be bullied out of ensuring that every vote and voice is heard,” Crowley said.
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