By: Fern Sidman
As the polls closed at 9 pm on Tuesday evening, the votes in the New York City Democratic primary for mayor and other offices in the city have begun to be tabulated. Because this is the first citywide election to implement ranked choice voting, as the numbers come in, it is quite likely that the top contenders may have a long wait until the final results are in.
As of 12:15 am, 93% of the vote has been counted. In the mayoral race, Eric Adams leads with 31% of the vote, followed by Maya Wiley with 22% of the vote and former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia is in third place at 20%. Andrew Yang, once considered a front runner received only 12% of the vote and conceded the race.
“I am not going to be mayor of New York City based on the numbers that have come in tonight,” Yang said. “I am conceding this race, though we’re not sure ultimately who the next mayor is going to be. Whoever that person is, I will be very happy to work with them to help improve the lives of the 8.3 million people who live in our great city, and I encourage other people to do the same.”
“We still believe we can help, but not as mayor and first lady,” Mr. Yang said, as he stood with his wife, Evelyn.
CBS News reported that Kathryn Garcia vowed that the winner will come down the “twos and threes” in ranked-choice voting. Maya Wiley assured her supporters “every single vote will count.”
There are no absentee ballots factored into the results yet because ballots can arrive through the mail until June 29, although they had to be postmarked by Tuesday.
CBS News reported that if no candidate receives a majority of first-place votes, the candidate who receives the fewest first-choice votes will be eliminated and his or her supporters’ votes will be reallocated based on other selections. That process of elimination and redistribution will be repeated until two candidates remain, and the candidate left with the most votes wins.
Eric Adams, who ran for mayor of New York City on a message intensely focused on issues of public safety, emerged on Tuesday with a substantial lead in the Democratic primary, according to a New York Times report, but fell well short of outright victory in a race that will now usher in a new period of uncertainty.
The Times reported that Adams was the first choice of 31% of those who voted in person on Tuesday or during the early voting period, as New Yorkers chose a leader to steer the city’s reopening and economic recovery.
The mayoral campaign was defined by debates over public safety and the economy, political experience and personal ethics, as the candidates presented sharply divergent visions for how they would lead New York into its post-pandemic future, as was reported by the NYT.
“We know that this is going to be layers. This is the first early voting count. We know that. We know there’s going to be twos and threes and fours, we know that,” Adams said, according to a CBS News report. “But there’s something else we know: that New York City said ‘our first choice is Eric Adams.'”
The Board of Elections is expected to release the first tabulation of ranked-choice votes for the early in-person and primary day votes on June 29, as was reported by CBS News. The first round of ranked-choice tabulation with absentee ballots is expected to take place on July 6. Any subsequent rounds of tabulation will take place in the following weeks. CBS reported that voters have until July 9 to cure any deficiencies with absentee ballots, meaning the final results may not come until July 12. As of Monday, about 207,000 absentee ballots were sent in the Democratic primary and about 87,000 had been returned.
Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa won the GOP race for mayor having beat restaurateur Fernando Mateo with an over 40-point lead with nearly 70 percent of votes tallied.
The Hill reported that both candidates waged bitter campaigns centered around support for law enforcement amid a rise in violent crime in the city. Sliwa, who cast himself as uniquely qualified to reverse the spike and said he would hire 3,000 more police officers. He also won the won the endorsement of Rudy Giuliani, a personal lawyer for former President Trump and former mayor of New York City.
Speaking to a crowd of nearly 200 people at a Manhattan steakhouse after the election results came in, Sliwa said, “Ladies and gentleman, we have just won the Republican Party in an overwhelming way.” He added, “It was a long period of time that took going door to door, street by street, subway station by subway station, and spreading the word. It could never have happened had it not been for John and Margo Catismidatis. And to Rudy Giuliani, who endorsed me along with other major Republicans all over this city.”
“Curtis is a great candidate. The energy, he out-campaigned everyone. Curtis is absolutely ready to be an excellent mayor. A mayor who will reform the city,” the former two-term GOP mayor said, as was reported in the New York Post.
“And New York City needs a Republican mayor the way Chicago does, the way Philadelphia does, the way Baltimore does. The last time we had riots in this city is when we had a Democratic mayor. The last time we had this kind of crime in the city is when we had a Democrat mayor, I think New Yorkers are smart enough to get beyond ‘New Yorkers can’t vote for a republican. What are we communist China?” said Giuliani.
In other races, the New York Post reported that former federal prosecutor Alvin Bragg held a slight lead over Tali Farhadian Weinstein in the Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Primary on Tuesday.
Late returns from the Board of Elections showed Bragg with 33.81 percent (71,719 votes), about four percentage points ahead of Weinstein, also a former federal prosecutor, at 30.44 percent (64,562 votes).
The tally came with 98 percent of precincts reporting and 212,123 votes counted.
The Post reported that other contenders in the crowded field included Assemblyman Dan Quart, Former “Survivor” contestant and public defender Eliza Orlins, civil rights attorney Tahanie Aboushi and former Manhattan assistant district attorney Lucy Lang.
Patch.com reported that City Council Member Antonio Reynoso has taken an early lead as the first-choice in the race for Brooklyn Borough President.
As of midnight, Reynoso held a lead with 28 percent of the vote according to NY1, which had more than 80 percent of precincts reporting vote counts. Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon was in second place with 19.1 percent of the vote and City Council Member Robert E. Cornegy Jr. in third with 18.9 percent.
Borough presidents are responsible for advocating for their borough in the city’s budget, appointing community board members, deciding on local initiatives and projects to fund and offering a vote on land-use items during the review process, according to the Patch.com report.
The other candidates in the race included Council Member Mathieu Eugene, minister and nonprofit executive Kim Council, former hospital executive Khari Edwards, high school teacher Robert A. Elstein, Community Board 17 member Pearlene Fields, district leader Anthony Jones, union president Robert Ramos Jr., bishop Lamor Miller-Whitehead and small business owner Trisha Ocona.
With close to 88% of the vote in in the race for Manhattan Borough President, incumbent Gale Brewer was term limited and is running for City Council District 6. The results were: City Councilman Mark Levine receiving 28.61% of the vote, followed by Brad Hoylman with 25.98%, Ben Kallos with12.36%, Lindsey Boylan with10.40%, Elizabeth Caputo with 9.78%, Guillermo A. Perez with 7.03% and Kimberly Watkins with 5.60%
CityandStateNY.com reported that State Sen. Brad Hoylman, along with New York City Council Members Ben Kallos and Mark Levine had each raised over $1.5 million for their campaigns. Lindsey Boylan, who worked for the state deputy secretary for Economic Development and Housing had gained a lot of recognition for being the first woman to accuse Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual misconduct. Lou Puliafito, an “overnight doorman,” is running unopposed on the Republican party line.
In the race for New York City Comptroller, the NY Post reported that Progressive Councilman Brad Lander held a significant first-choice vote lead over Speaker Corey Johnson in according to late election results. With 96 percent of ballots counted, Lander held an 8.5 percent lead over Johnson, a former mayoral hopeful who dropped out of contention last September, citing mental health issues. Lander had earned 31.34 percent of the first-choice vote (220,478), while Johnson received 22.51 percent (158,563). New York Assemblyman David Weprin came in with 7% of the vote.
The Post reported that Lander got the progressive nods with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez giving him the thumbs up, as well as stamps of approval from Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and other left-wingers. .
In local city council races, incumbent Farah Louis won handily with over 77% of the vote in the 45th district in Brooklyn. Her opponents were Anthony Beckford and Cyril Joseph.
Brooklyn Paper reported that City Council District 45 is made up of Flatbush, Midwood, Flatlands, East Flatbush and parts of Marine Park. The district faces an influx of mega-developments, food and job insecurity, and other quality-of-life issues exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In the 47th city council district in Brooklyn, the winner thus far is Ari Kagan, with Steven Patzer coming in second. Having held the seat since 2013, Mark Treyger was term limited and unable to run again.
The 47th district represents Coney Island, Sea Gate, Gravesend, and Bensonhurst.
In the 48th city council race, the winner thus far is former teacher Steven Saperstein with Mariya Markh coming in a close second. The crowded field in the predominantly Orthodox Jewish district included Amber Adler, Binyamin Bendet, Mariya Markh, Boris Noble and Heshy Tischler. These candidates are seeking to replace incumbent Chaim Deutsch.
With 95% of the vote counted by midnight, Saperstein was leading with 31% of the vote, followed by Markh at 29%. Radio show host and community activist came in last in the pack of candidates.
Yeshiva World News reported that Tischler spent thousands of dollars on advertising in the run-up to election day but only managed to get less than 220 votes (thus far).
