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Early Voting Starts For Hotly Contested 11th & 15th Council District Special Elections
By
David Cruz
Published Mar 13, 2021
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By
David Cruz
Published Mar 13, 2021
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Early voting for two New York City Council seats begins Saturday for the Bronx's 11th and 15th Council districts with 16 candidates vying for the seat representing the voters in the north and central sections of the borough.
The early voting period phase runs through March 22nd, the day before voters will have the entire day to decide who will represent them in the Council. The contests is also the latest for voters to cast ballots under the new ranked-choice voting system, which was applied to special election races for the 24th and 31st Council Districts in Queens. Results for each race may not come for several days after the election if a candidate does not secure more than 50% of the vote, which would stave off the process of redistributing votes under RCV.
Read More: Special Election Set For Bronx 11th & 15th Council District Seats
The race caps a years-long effort by candidates to succeed the legislators that relinquished their positions after accepting other public office posts. They include Andrew Cohen, who stepped down as councilmember for the 11th Council District to successfully seek a judgeship, and Ritchie Torres, who vacated his spot as the 15th Council District lawmaker to become the current legislator for the 15th Congressional District in the South Bronx
There are ten candidates on the ballot, including Kenny Agosto, Bronx Community Board 7 district manager Ischia Bravo, Bronx Community Board 6 district manager John Sanchez, Jose A Padilla, Jr., Ariel Rivera-Diaz, state committeeman Oswald Feliz, Bronx Borough President education liaison Elisa Crespo, former communications employee for Vice President Kamala Harris Troy Blackwell, transportation advocate Latchmi Gopal, and Altagracia Soldevilla. As in those two races, candidates in the special election race in the Bronx are not running on a major party line.
Crespo previously told Gothamist/WNYC she is "full steam ahead" in representing the seat, crafting a platform that aims at changing the public review process for construction projects, deep affordable housing, and improving the city's transportation network. If she wins, Crespo will be the first trans woman to be elected to the Council. Sanchez's priorities include renovating the old public library off Fordham Road and Tremont Park, along with a recreation center, while creating universal broadband access to close the digital divide. Gopal is a Bronx native seeking to make higher education free, desegregate the public school system, and advocate for a Green New Deal.
In an interview with Gothamist, Bravo seeks to limit large-scale development in the district, which has been oversaturated these past years with large scale projects.
"Our community's at a turning point and we need to make sure we have somebody who knows the community," Bravo previously told Gothamist.
The 15th Council District lies next to the 11th Council District, which has been without a representative since December 31st, 2020. Six candidates have set their sights on the seat that includes Norwood, the east side of Bedford Park, Riverdale, Fieldston, Woodlawn, and Marble Hill. Top issues in the district include access to public transportation and overdevelopment in parts of the district that have raised questions on whether existing city services can handle a population influx.
Candidates in the race include attorney Daniel Padernacht, school teacher Eric Dinowitz, retired NYPD detective Carlton Berkley, Jessica Haller, executive director at People's Theatre Project Mino Lora, and Kevin Pazmino.
Read More: Bronx Special Election Could Establish A New Political Dynasty.
Padernacht, a longtime member of Bronx Community Board 8 who unsuccessfully ran for state senate in 2010, said that if elected he intends to strengthen housing stability, educational support for children, and reduce food insecurity. Haller's platform is focused on the climate crisis, which she see as interconnected with housing, education, and transportation.
The race for the seat is tight as Dinowitz, Padernacht, and Lora have raised triple-digit campaign funds to run to be competitive. But Dinowitz edges out his challengers when it comes to endorsements, with the Bronx Democratic Party, the United Federation of Teachers union, and DC37 unions.
Candidates who win the respective seats will automatically fill the vacancies, though they will have to run again in the June primary, and once again in November if they win the primary. The winner of the special election–which not be decided for days, depending on whether any candidate retains 50% or more on candidates—will still retain their seat at the end of the year to fill out the term even if they don't win the primary.
A full list of early voting sites and times can be found here. A list of the 11th and 15th Council District candidates can be found here and here.
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election 2021
David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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