NYC-CC30: Two Bob Holden staffers are running against each other for their boss' seat - and it's actually not awkward
As of Tuesday, when the New York City Board of Elections released ranked choice results for last week’s primaries, it’s official: Two staffers for City Council Member Bob Holden, Democrat Phil Wong and Republican Alicia Vaichunas, will face off in the general election as they vie for their boss’s seat.
You’d think it’d be awkward to be in that office at the moment, but turns out, it’s not. Far from it.
According to Holden, the office was ecstatic for Wong Tuesday afternoon. “Alicia – all of us were celebrating. I had a big smile on my face,” he told City & State Wednesday.
Wong, an area education activist and Holden’s constituent services and budget director, was not the favorite in the competitive Democratic primary. The city’s Democratic establishment had, from the beginning, rallied around Dermot Smyth, an operative for the United Federation of Teachers. But Wong ended up on top with a narrow 325-vote lead over Middle Village roller hockey league leader Paul Pogozelski, with Smyth coming in last.
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/07/two-bob-holden-staffers-are-running-against-each-other-their-boss-seat-and-its-actually-not-awkward/406503/?oref=csny-category-lander-featured-river