City & State New York
August 28, 2017
DISTRICT 28
Ruben Wills After being convicted of fraud and grand larceny, Ruben Wills was expelled from the City Council under state law. Now that Wills is out of the picture, a few Democrats have entered the fight over the newly vacant council seat. Prior to Wills’ departure, Democratic contenders included Hettie V. Powell, an attorney who secured 33 percent of the vote in the 2013 primary, and Richard David, who has worked in the leadership of the city’s Economic Development Corp. Adrienne Adams, chairwoman of Queens Community Board 12, joined the race with an endorsement from Rep. Joseph Crowley, who also serves as the Queens County Democratic Party chairman. The Queens Democratic machine had previously put its weight behind Wills, so his departure opens up a free-for-all for the seat. The Republican side features accountant Ivan Mossop, who was endorsed by the Queens County Republican Party.
DISTRICT 44 David Greenfield, chairman of the powerful City Council Land Use Committee who was still able to run for two more terms, made a late, surprise announcement that he would not be seeking re-election. A committee then chose Greenfield’s former adviser and fundraiser Kalman Yeger to fill his spot on the ballot. Yeger, who was previously running for Chaim Deutsch’s District 48 seat, now faces some competition – Yoni Hikind, son of Greenfield’s political rival Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who announced his bid for the seat as an independent candidate at the beginning of August.
DISTRICT 41 A slew of Brooklynites have jumped in the race to replace term-limited City Councilwoman Darlene Mealy. Despite the huge list of candidates, two candidates stand out in terms of fundraising and endorsements: Alicka Ampry-Samuel, who previously worked as chief of staff for Assemblywoman Latrice Walker and has been endorsed by 1199SEIU, 32BJ SEIU, the Working Families Party and others; and Henry Butler, a retired transit worker and president of the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association, who’s earned the endorsement of many of the area’s elected officials, including state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery and City Councilman Robert Cornegy Jr. as well as Transport Workers Union Local 100. Also on the ballot are Moreen King, who owns day care centers in the neighborhood; Deidre Olivera, a member of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, who also edits a community newspaper in Brownsville; Cory Provost, a district leader who was the youngest member of the CUNY board of trustees; municipal worker Leopold Cox; David Miller; Victor Jordan; and Royston Antoine.
DISTRICT 43 In the race to succeed City Councilman Vincent Gentile, the pool of potential Democratic nominees includes: Justin Brannan, who was Gentile’s chief of staff and worked in intergovernmental affairs for the city Department of Education; Kevin Peter Carroll, a district leader who works for City Councilman Stephen Levin; the Rev. Khader el-Yateem, an influential pastor endorsed by civil rights activist Linda Sarsour; Vincent Chirico, a member of Brooklyn Community Board 11 and a former chief of staff to Assemblyman Peter Abbate Jr.; and Nancy Tong, a district leader who works for Assemblyman William Colton and who the New York City Campaign Finance Board named as one of the top three candidates in the city ranked by small dollar donations. On the other side of the political spectrum, Republican candidates include Robert Capano, a professor who has worked for Democratic and Republican officials; Liam McCabe, a former aide to Rep. Dan Donovan; John Quaglione, who handles press for state Sen. Martin Golden and unsuccessfully tried to unseat Gentile in 2013; and Lucretia Regina-Potter, the Republican district leader of the 46th Assembly District.
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