New York Young Republicans have a new leader

Queens Republican political operative Stefano Forte is the new president of the New York Young Republican Club, the group announced Wednesday. 

Forte, executive director of the conservative 1776 PAC and who was elected the club’s vice president in January, previously was campaign manager for City Council Member Vickie Paladino’s 2023 reelection bid. He is taking over for Gavin Wax, who resigned from the post this week after six years to spend more time with his wife and six-month-old baby. (Asked what’s next for him, Wax told City & State via text that he’s going to “pursue his lifelong passion of being a trapeze artist,” and for good measure, sent along a photo that appeared to be photoshopped of him on the trapeze.) Wax will, however, stay on as the club’s chair.

Forte is taking the helm at a time when Republican support in Queens is growing, with President Donald Trump’s support in the borough increasing by 10 points between the 2020 and 2024 elections. Coupled with City Council Member Joann Ariola’s election as the council’s new minority leader about two months ago and her naming Paladino minority whip, Forte’s new role could, in theory, be an avenue for the GOP to really make its mark on the World’s Borough.

In actuality, though, the Young Republicans and the Queens Republican machine are not on good terms. As Wax put it, Forte’s elevation to president “reflects a movement growing in Queens despite the best efforts of the party not to grow,” referring both to the state and borough parties. 

The rocky relationship between the NYYRC and the Queens Republican establishment perhaps most evident in the chaotic lead up to Ariola’s minority leader election and the club’s reaction to it. Ariola became minority leader after now-former City Council Member Joe Borelli resigned in late January. Borelli had backed City Council Member David Carr – a fellow Staten Islander and his former chief of staff in the Assembly – for minority leader over Ariola, who was very open about her desires to hold the role. When Borelli called a vote for the position, Ariola, Paladino and Bronx Council Member Kristy Marmorato did not show, saying they did not have sufficient notice; the three Republicans who did voted for Carr. Ariola challenged the vote, arguing that it was invalid without a quorum present. Ultimately, the council’s counsel agreed, and a new vote was held after Borelli’s departure, which Ariola won.  

Throughout all of this, not only did the Young Republicans back Carr for minority leader, but members were openly combative toward Ariola – formerly the chair of the Queens County GOP – and her maneuvering. Wax, for one, called Ariola “utterly pathetic” and “sleazy” for her actions. Forte dubbed her “queen of the ashes.” The club itself even hosted a meet and greet with “the real minority leader of the NYC Council,” David Carr. 

As president of the club, Forte is focused on increasing club membership and continuing its work providing candidates with boots-on-the-ground support. “Our job is to expand, expand as much as possible, and to show that we're the true city alternative,” he told City & State. “And when it comes to party and party building, we are the largest organization in the city, bar none. Like President Trump said: The United States is entering its golden age. And I believe that the New York Young Republican Club is in its golden age because of the leadership of Gavin Wax and what I plan on doing in the future.”

He seemed less interested, however, in mending any fences with the county establishment, which has long suffered from party infighting. Asked about how he plans to work with Ariola, Forte said, “I look forward to working with Minority Leader Carr once the wrong has been righted after November.”