Restler Squeaks Ahead After Absentee Count
Lincoln Restler
- Lincoln Restler may have done it again. Two years ago, Restler trailed his opponent by 97 votes in a Democratic district leader race before surging ahead with a 120-vote margin in a nerve-wracking recount. On primary night this year, the Greenpoint district leader thought he had lost his race by 180 votes to Assemblyman Vito Lopez-backed challenger Chris Olechowski. But election workers tabulated the count from the voting machines and sifted through absentee and affidavit ballots on Friday, giving Restler a tentative 53-vote lead. That means there’s going to be a recount, but Restler allies believe he will emerge victorious. “Unless a serious machine malfunction occurred or the arithmetic was just plain wrong, we can expect the recount to confirm that Lincoln Restler won,” said election law attorney Jerry Goldfeder. Olechowski’s allies, including Community Board 1 member Simon Weiser, are more circumspect about the results. “Whatever it is it is,” said Weiser. “You have to accept it with grace. It shows again and again that every vote counts.”
Tags: brooklyn, Chris Olechowski, district leader, Jerry Goldfeder, lincoln-restler, Simon Weiser, Vito Lopez