Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Elections

Elections

  • Three More State Legislators Seek City Council Seats

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    Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., left, & AM Mark Gjonaj (photo: @RevRubenDiaz)


    There are only a handful of City Council seats opening up this year due to term limits. Of the seven “open” races in the 51-seat Council, all of which are up for election this fall, several feature state legislators seeking to make the jump to the city’s legislative body.

    Seeking to stay closer to home for work, legislators who now have to commute to Albany several days a week for half the year have declared their candidacies. Entering City Council races to succeed a

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  • The May Money Race in 'Open' City Council Seats

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    City Council candidate Justin Branan, left (photo: @JustinBrannan)


    Primary day for this year’s citywide municipal elections is less than four months away and there are seven “open” City Council seats, out of 51, where the incumbent is term-limited from running again. Each race has numerous candidates, and campaign fundraising has heated up as the election draws closer. Most of the open seat Council races will be all-but-decided in the Democratic primary given the nature of the electorate in the districts at play.

    City Council Members Rosie Mendez (District 2), Dan

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  • GOP Mayoral Primary Appears To Be Massey Versus Malliotakis

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    Malliotakis, left, & Massey (photos: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    The Republican field for the mayor’s race has winnowed down to two major candidates -- real estate executive Paul Massey and state Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis -- and a few longshot contenders with a minimal presence on the campaign trail. With just four months till the September primary and Malliotakis only in the race a few weeks, early signs indicate Republican Party officials may be split on Massey and Malliotakis while a contentious primary battle has quickly

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  • The May Mayoral Money Race

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Candidates in the running for Mayor in this year’s municipal elections filed their latest fundraising and expenditure reports with the New York City Campaign Finance Board on Monday. Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Democratic incumbent, leads the pack with more than $2.5 million in his campaign account, while those seeking to unseat him -- Democrats, Republicans, and others alike -- lag behind in terms of cash-on-hand. Those other candidates have shown varied levels of success in fundraising, and have

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  • Malliotakis Falsely Claims '100% of the Vote' in Last Election

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    Assembly Member Malliotakis (photo: @NMalliotakis)


    Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican mayoral candidate who represents a district spanning parts of Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn, says on her newly launched campaign website that the last time she was reelected to the state Legislature, in 2016, she received 100 percent of the vote. The claim does not match voting records.

    Malliotakis has been reelected to the state Assembly three times over the last six years after first winning her seat in 2010, when she beat

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  • Malliotakis Officially Launches Mayoral Candidacy

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    Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican who represents parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn, officially launched her mayoral campaign on a rainy Friday morning at the steps of City Hall, criticizing Mayor Bill de Blasio’s record on crime and what she called the city’s out-of-control spending under the heavily progressive partnership between the mayor and the City Council.

    “City Hall has been taken from us,” Malliotakis said. “Over the past four years,

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  • Republican Mayoral Hopefuls Pitch Candidacies at Manhattan Forum

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    Wednesday's forum (photo via Manhattan GOP)


    Candidates running, or hoping to run, for the Republican mayoral nomination made the case for their candidacies at a GOP forum in Manhattan on Wednesday night, pitching their qualifications and levelling criticism at Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio. Indicative of de Blasio’s incumbent status and the nature of the opposition field, the event featured more criticism of the mayor than forward-looking policy talk.

    The Metropolitan Republican Club, on the Upper East Side, hosted four candidates -- real estate

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  • Latino Voters and the 2017 New York City Elections

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    For the first time in history, there are more Latino voters in New York City than African Americans. In fact, Latinos now account for 23% (977,514) of all registered voters in NYC (4,281,946) and they are a quarter (735,641) of all registered Democrats (2,942,337), according to data from Prime New York’s voter analysis.

    As the largest ethnic group in the city – and the entire United States – the Latino presence in New York is palpable: from the store-front taquerias and cuchifritos, to the salsa and merengue beat in the streets, to the baseball and soccer

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  • Despite Record Low Crime, Massey Attempts to Make Public Safety a Campaign Issue

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    Paul Massey (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    Real estate executive Paul Massey, a leading Republican mayoral contender, held a week-long campaign launch earlier this month, concluding with a focus on community policing. Having visited each borough with a daily theme, Massey said in an email blast on March 17, “I’ve heard many concerns in my discussions with city residents this week and one that stands out is that our city feels less safe.”

    It wasn’t the first time Massey made the claim, and it wasn’t

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  • Cuomo Punts Voting Reform to ‘After the Budget’

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    Gov. Cuomo (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo all but confirmed Tuesday that major voting reforms he’s proposed would not be part of the new state budget, which is due by April 1.

    In January, Cuomo outlined the “Democracy Project” as part of his 2017 State of the State agenda, and included its widely prized measures like early voting, same-day voter registration, and an enhanced form of automatic voter registration in one of his budget bills. But, on Tuesday Cuomo indicated that the push to

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  • The March Money Race in ‘Open’ City Council Seats

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    Marjorie Velazquez (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    In a February special election, Harlemites voted then-state Senator Bill Perkins to fill a City Council seat vacated by Inez Dickens, who had been previously elected to the state Assembly. Heading toward the regularly-scheduled September primary elections and November general, there are now seven “open” City Council seats in the 51-seat body. These are seats in which the current occupants are term-limited and unable to run for reelection.

    Council Members Rosie Mendez (District 2), Dan Garodnick (District 4),

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  • In GOP Mayoral Primary, Lopsided Fundraising Numbers & One Big Question

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    Paul Massey (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    With just six months until the primaries in this year’s city elections, declared candidates for the Republican mayoral nomination have begun to step up fundraising and campaigning. Meanwhile, two potential GOP mayoral candidates are still exploring a run, and the entrance of one or both could shake up a race that is off to a seemingly lopsided start.

    Midnight on Wednesday was the deadline for the latest round of campaign finance disclosures, covering a two-month

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  • Massey Pledge to Not Take Money from People with City Business Only Applies to Potential Reelection

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    Paul Massey (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    Mayoral candidate Paul Massey, a real estate executive running for the Republican nomination, has promised to not accept financial campaign contributions from people who do business with the city. But, that pledge does not apply to his current campaign, which has already received about two dozen donations from people with city business.

    While Massey has made the promise on the trail, when presented with Gotham Gazette’s analysis

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  • Community Group Endorses Four Women of Color for ‘Open’ City Council Seats

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    Carlina Rivera, left, & Marjorie Velazquez, center (photo: @CarlinaRivera)


    In an effort to promote women’s representation on the City Council, the political arm of one of New York’s largest grassroots immigrant advocacy organizations has endorsed four women of color running for “open” Council seats this year.

    Make the Road Action (MRA), the political affiliate of Make the Road New York, a group that represents about 20,000 Latinos in New York City and Long Island, will announce its endorsement on Friday for four progressive City Council candidates - Carlina Rivera,

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  • Small Number of Votes Likely to Carry Harlem Special Election

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    photo: NYC Board of Elections


    When City Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr., a Bronx Democrat, was elected in a special held on February 23 last year, only 3,764 ballots were cast and he received 1,455 of them. There were five other candidates in the race.

    In 2013, almost exactly four years

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  • The Early Money Race in ‘Open’ City Council Seats

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    City Council chambers (photo: Sofie Hecht/Gotham Gazette)


    With seven sitting New York City Council members facing term limits and one having left the Council to join the state Assembly, this year’s municipal elections will feature a number of competitive open races and will bring fresh blood into the city’s legislative body.

    While the vast majority of those in the Council’s 51 seats can run for another term this year, and most are, the open seats will see the bulk of the electoral competition for the City Council.

    Come January, the Council will

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  • To Defeat De Blasio, Republicans Attempt Early Rally Behind One Candidate

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    GOP mayoral candidate Paul Massey, right (photo: @MasseyforMayor)


    In hopes of denying Mayor Bill de Blasio a second term, some New York City Republican leaders intend to rally around a single candidate to avoid a contentious primary and present a stronger challenge in the general election.

    Starting this week, Republican Party leaders and members will begin the process of vetting candidates who have declared their intention to run for mayor or are exploring a mayoral bid. Party organizations will host public meetings where each candidate will

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  • Cuomo Embraces Voting Reform Agenda, But Implementation Poses Challenges

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    Gov. Cuomo voting (photo: The Governor's Office on flickr)


    During his State of the State tour early this month, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a trio of major reforms hailed as important steps toward modernizing New York’s antiquated electoral system and increasing the state’s paltry voter turnout. While they are long-called for proposals that many are pleased to see Cuomo promote, implementing these goals could be more complicated than it may seem.

    Two of the three reforms, early voting and automatic voter registration, were outlined in Cuomo’s 2016

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  • Special Election for Harlem City Council Seat Kicks Off

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    Council candidate Marvin Holland, right, with Sylvia Tyler (photo via Holland on Twitter)


    It’s going to be a sprint of an election -- though it’s not clear how many candidates are running or how many voters will participate -- with ballots likely to be cast sometime in February.

    The election of New York City Council Member Inez Dickens to the State Assembly creates an open seat in Council District 9 in Harlem, and a number of contenders have thrown their hats in the ring. As soon as Dickens officially vacates her Council seat, Mayor

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  • De Blasio Appeals for Support in Pushing Albany on Voting Reform

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    In order to improve New York’s dismal voter turnout rates, it’s necessary to “shake the foundations of things,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio in his keynote speech at a voter turnout symposium at New York Law School on Friday.

    Speaking to an audience of more than a hundred people, many of them advocates of voting and election reform, the mayor made a forceful appeal to reinforce his recent call for reform bills in Albany. De Blasio lamented the fact that New York is well behind dozens of other states in

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  • How New York Voted: 10 Key Takeaways

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    Voting (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    A week after Election Day the votes are still being counted, but we know a lot about what happened nationally and here in New York. While the Empire State went decidedly for Hillary Clinton for President, the margin was mostly due to New York City’s overwhelming support for the Democratic nominee over now President-elect Donald Trump. And as we dissect the numbers and watch as Trump’s transition operation unfolds, New Yorkers are watching Long Island, where two state Senate races have yet to be called and could determine

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  • Across the Country, Bloomberg’s Election Investments Largely Successful

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    Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Election Day in New York (via @MikeBloomberg)


    Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made national headlines when the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent gave a primetime speech at this summer’s Democratic National Convention, during which he excoriated Donald Trump, then the Republican nominee for President and now president-elect, and outlined his support for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee.

    While Bloomberg’s choice at the top of the ballot did not go the way he

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  • Bill De Blasio and the Presidential Election That Didn’t Happen

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    Clinton & de Blasio at Inner Circle (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Just two weeks before Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders stepped into the 2016 presidential election with his uber progressive proposals that would eventually pull the Democratic Party to the left, Mayor Bill de Blasio stuck his foot in the door. The mayor’s attempt to seize the moment for national change was borne from his own electoral success in New York City and began in

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  • Fixing New York’s Broken Voting System

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    Senator Gianaris, the author


    When I went to cast my vote, in the same polling location I have voted all my life, the line was out the door. I’ve never seen it that crowded before. At other polling sites in my district, wait times lasted up to two hours, often scuttling voters' other plans for the day or causing upheaval for families. Observing the chaos, I thought about the 34 states that have already enacted early voting, a process proven to increase voter participation and enhance convenience.

    Why hasn't New York adopted this common-sense

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  • Donald Trump Elected President in Big Night for GOP

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    President-Elect Donald Trump


    On a huge Election Day for Republicans, Donald Trump won the presidential election, the GOP kept control of both houses of Congress, and, here in New York, Republicans have increased their margin in the state Senate, the party’s last stronghold of statewide power.

    With a stunning show of support across the country, Trump and his vice presidential running mate Mike Pence won more states than expected and Trump will become the 45th President of the United States. Reports came in around 2:40 a.m. that Hillary

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