Live Election Night Coverage!
Queensborough’s Speech Communication and Theatre Arts Lecturer, Gail Lewis, and History Professor, Dr. Peter Bales, will anchor and feature in Queens Public Television’s Live Election coverage Tuesday night, from 8:00 pm to midnight.
“It’s hyperlocal, interactive and you just won’t get this level of insight or understanding anywhere else,” said Lewis, who participated in QPTV’s coverage of the 2016 election.
“I live and work in Queens. It will be exciting to be a witness to history and see democracy in action. It’s a tremendous honor and responsibility. I feel so blessed and excited,” Lewis added.
Co-host, from 10:00 pm to 12:00 am, Dr. Bales is looking forward to the night because “anything can happen.” Both presenters will take questions on social media as the tallies mount.
Peter Bales and Gale Lewis
Both hosts predict a big night, suggesting Queens voters will likely turn out in record numbers.
“New citizens to our country take their voting and citizenship seriously. There may not be any surprises in any of the local Queens races, but the proportion of voters having their say will be very telling,” said Bales.
Lewis, who cast her early vote on Thursday after standing in the rain, said residents throughout the borough were determined to have their voices heard.
“People were getting wet but they were doing the cupid shuffle and music was blaring. The weather was not deterring anyone. I am so proud of Queensites I saw people lined up, during the week, for blocks around York and Queens Colleges’ voting sites. They wrapped around the streets, not once but twice, and snaked up Kissena Boulevard. ”
Lewis and Bales agreed that colleges, such as Queensborough, missed-out on typical on-campus, election-year, student-led debates and other public political interactions.
“They may have been scattered by Covid, but on-line group discussion and forums provided venues for students to consider the issues. I think younger people will be voting in larger numbers than before,” Bales offered.
The duo said they would be reporting directly to the people of Queens, offering more meaningful coverage than commercial media because of their guests’ insights and perspectives as well as their own knowledge of individual neighborhoods, voting districts and local history.
“We will have a Queens focus, far more than any other outlet,” said Lewis.
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Contact:
Michael Donahue or Alice Doyle
