Four candidates are facing off for the 31st District State Senate seat. Clockwise from top left: Robert Jackson, Luis Tejada, Marisol Alcántara and Micah Lasher.
While the country obsesses over the presidential election, state elections Tuesday could actually have a bigger impact on your life. The state government has an enormous amount of power over city operations, from how much money public schools get, to whether the MTA continues to raise the cost of your Metrocard even as service continues to deteriorate.
On Tuesday, there will be primary elections for state assembly and senate seats. Multiple Democrats are vying for several local seats.
To find out who is on your ballot before you arrive at the polls on Tuesday, visit Voters Edge (https://votersedge.nyccfb.info/en/ny) which is a service of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, a nonpartisan, independent city agency, and enter your address. You ballot choice will pop up with who is running, biographical information and official statements that the candidates have submitted about their priorities and beliefs. To find out where your poling place is, go to NYC’s poll locator portal (https://vote.nyc.ny.us/html/home/locator_updates.shtml) and enter your address.
State Senate District 31
Among the most closely-watched contests is a race for the State Senate seat vacated by Adriano Espaillat, who is running for Congress.
There are four candidates for that seat: Robert Jackson, a former city councilman; Marisol Alcántara, a labor organizer; Micah Lasher, a former top staff member for Eric Schneiderman and Michael Bloomberg (who held a fundraiser for him); and community activist Luis Tejada.
Alcántara has stirred controversy because she’s being supported by the Independent Democrat Conference, a spinoff group that has allied with the Republicans to allow them to control the state Senate. Alcántara, who is supported by Espaillat, hasn’t said whether she’ll ally with the IDC if elected, but if she does it could mean the Senate remains in Republican hands. “The Democrats are expected to pick up enough seats this fall to potentially retake control of the chamber, perhaps spearheading the kind of campaign finance reform (publicly-funded elections, lowering donation limits) that the likes of Alcántara would like to see and Republicans, as long as they’re in power, would block,” according to the Village Voice.
Read much more about the dynamics in that race in the Voice, Gotham Gazette, the New York Times, and Chelsea News. Local advocacy group Neighborhood in the Nineties also talked to some of the candidates.
Two state assembly contests also have contested primaries.
State Assembly District 67
In District 67, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, who has represented the area for 10 years, is facing a challenge from lawyer Eugene Byrne who has “represented the indigent in courtrooms all over the city.” New York Press interviewed the candidates here.
State Assembly District 69
In District 69, incumbent Daniel O’Donnell is facing challenger Steven Appel. We asked both of them to answer some questions but so far have only heard from Appel. His answers are below. Both also answered questions for New York Press.
Full name: Steven M. Appel
Age: 31
Profession: Social Entrepreneur/Non-profit Co-Founder
Campaign or official website: www.stevenmappel.com
Why should Upper West Siders vote for you?
I have lived in our community for 25+ years and attended elementary school on 89th street. I currently live on 106th street and care deeply about our community’s future.
After graduating from Queens College-CUNY in 2009 as valedictorian, I co-founded the Center for Ethnic, Racial & Religious Understanding (CERRU) at Queens College, a non-profit dedicated to bringing diverse people together to facilitate understanding. As assistant director of CERRU for five years, I helped grow the organization to a staff of eight with a budget of nearly $700,000. After leaving CERRU, I pursued an MBA in management and sustainability at Baruch College-CUNY and currently serve as a senior manager at a national educational nonprofit focused on financial literacy.
I am not your typical politician. I believe in self-imposing ethics reform before they are enshrined in law. I will bring my background as an innovative unifier to Albany and offer energetic new leadership for our Assembly seat.
What are the biggest issues facing the Upper West Side that can be addressed in the state assembly?
Residents of our district are concerned about affordable housing/strengthening our rent laws, cleaner and safer streets, and high quality public education. Our community’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths and we must continue the fight for affordable housing to ensure our community remains diverse. I will utilize technology to creatively tackle quality-of-life issues. For example, I will encourage members of our community to become “mayor” of their block and volunteer to pick up trash. This idea is inspired by Boston’s successful adopt-a-hydrant campaign that encouraged citizens to volunteer to keep hydrants clear of snow during storms. As a graduate of Queens College and Baruch, I have enormous gratitude to—and respect for—the CUNY system. I have seen firsthand the power of high quality public education. I will fight to strengthen public education in our district and in New York State, hold charter schools accountable, and invest in CUNY’s professors.
Reporting contributed by Ernie Fritz.
Never discuss Politics or Religion. I’ll stick with that now.
Rag — Thanks for shedding light on what has been virtually a secret race for this contested seat. I read Mr. O’Donnell’s response in the New York Press, found just now through Rag. I wish he/his office had taken the modest step of sharing such information with Rag and, especially, with the League of Women Voters, a longtime go-to source for many voters, but he did not. I really really wish information about this race had been readily available, and more discussed, weeks ago, not just the day before the election. Absentee Ballot voters missed out, for one thing.
I’m amused by this guy Byrne in the 67th. I was looking for more info on him earlier just to get an idea of him and couldn’t find ANYTHING. no website, no office info.
And now this interview. Where he cant even be bothered to wear an actual shirt for the photo he either submitted or showed up to the interview in?
There’s knowing you have little chance of winning, and there’s sabotaging yourself before you even get started.
I was tempted to vote against Ms. Rosenthal, but after reading up on him, I think I’m gonna sit this one out. It’ll be the first vote I’ve skipped in years.
Just when I think I’ve learned all about local politics… What is Male State Committee?
Has anyone seen info about the two candidates within Dan O’Donnell’s assembly district?
The only thing I know about this race is the horrific behavior of Lasher staffers. A staff member broke into my building and harassed tenants. When caught by building security he was belligerent and insisted it was his constitutional right to be there. Tenants determined that he was targeting people who subscribed to the NY Times & presumably Lasher had purchased the list (after being endorsed by the NYT). I brought it to Mr. Lasher’s attention (via Twitter and Facebook) and heard nothing back until I followed up. I received a tweet apologizing for any “bother” that was caused. I replied that harassing tenants and buying lists isn’t so much a bother as it is a way to alienate constituents. I’ve heard nothing back.
What, exactly, do you mean here by “broke into” and “harassed”?
Are you sure that those are the appropriate terms to use for whatever actually occurred?
Breaking-in to a building, certainly, is a criminal offense. Harassment– when actually meeting a legal definition of such–would, I believe, be a criminal offense as well.
Might your use of those terms constitute hyperbole?
(For the record, I have no affiliation or partiality to ANY of the candidates in today’s election.)
@ Cato:
When accusations of serious crimes are made, without any evidence to back them up, it is quite reasonable and legitimate to question and challenge such claims. (And the more extraordinary or outlandish the accusations, the more legitimate the questioning of them.) That is all I did.
Your attack on me was overwrought and gratuitous.
A staff member of a candidate running for public office broke-in to a building? Don’t you think that if that had occurred, said staff member would have either been apprehended by the police by now or be on the lam? And that, either way, the incident would have blown-up into a major scandal for the candidate– one we would have heard about by now?
As for “harassment”, I suspect that what Brenda (the commenter-in-question) was referring-to with her use of the word was along the lines of the individual-in-question merely knocking on people’s doors, distributing literature and pitching for his candidate. I realize that many people would no doubt be annoyed by such activity and colloquially, even refer to it as “harassment”. But would such activity, in and of itself, legally be considered “harassment”? Or even illegal in any way? I am fairly certain that the answer to both questions is ‘no’. (But if anyone can actually demonstrate otherwise, please do so.)
Obviously harassment is unacceptable. Come on.
(I don’t live in Lasher’s district and am extremely skeptical that the story here is true, but come on independent – maybe give the creepy in-defense-of-harassment shtick a rest.)
I did not defend harassment. I questioned whether harassment had actually occurred.
And who, exactly, appointed you the judge and jury to determine “whether harassment had actually occurred” to someone else, not in your presence??
When the landlord was purposely allowing the ceiling to fall in on us (large, 50 lb. slabs of it – not kidding, I have photos) without fixing it because he wanted to force us out of the rent-stabilized apartment my family lived in for half a century, Assembly member Rosenthal went to bat for us. I can’t begin to tell you how powerless and frightened we felt before her help.
The ceiling got fixed and we still have a home.
Her office regularly helps out low-income senior citizens and others who are vulnerable to these kinds of landlord abuses. They are part of our community.
If you want to see an example of government really making a positive difference in the lives of regular people, she and her staff are it. Please vote to keep Rosenthal in office.
that is your opinion of Helen Rosenthal.
I have seen her in action many times and she does a FINE job.
And I am willing to put my real name on this recommendation. No anonymity.
PS Linda Rosenthal does an excellent job as well. Two hardworking, honest public servants who are dedicated to helping poor and working people, elderly, children, etc. MAKE IT and SURVIVE on the UWS.
The rich don’t need them. the poor and working and middle classes do.
I agree — Helen Rosenthal has done a lot. That is, IF you consider the job of a City Council representative as limited to holding press conferences on corners where traffic accidents occurred.
Otherwise, not so much.
I know i said “Never discuss Politics or Religion. I’ll stick with that now.”
but
I caught her in a propaganda reel. Broke-in (it was the corner where i live, so i got rights) and Clarified things for the camera.
NY1 followed up with me on that. Even put me on air. I am no tv personality, but did my duty.
PS I disagree with Linda R and Helen R on many POLITICAL issues — I’m a Bernie guy. But any objective observer would have to say they are working their butts off, they are honest, and they care about helping the people of the district. I take my hat off to both of them.
Just to be clear , , , there are two Rosenthals that represent our area. Linda does really good work for our community; whereas, the other has been a disappointment.
Just want to thank WSR for collecting this info here … like you said, local elections have a big impact and yet hardly anyone talks about them (or votes in them, unless I’m mistaken)
psssst Doug,
voting in Primaries and local elections is important for me. Since so few vote, each vote is Significant.
The dynamics of the race for Espaillat’s seat are really fascinating – everyone seems to be competing based on ethnicity rather than policy, with a candidate representing each of the major constituencies. I am in Lasher’s geographic and demographic core constituency and have been bombarded with info from him. For an election like this, whoever will get out the vote is most likely to win.
why do you assume Robert Jackson is competing based on ethnicity? I haven’t seen that at all in his messaging.
Fair point. To clarify, their primary backers and supporters are their core constituencies. I have seen some campaigning for Jackson in my neighborhood. Though I continue to believe that all candidates are counting on a large portion of their votes coming from their core groups.
In addition to living in Lasher-land, his huge war chest might also be skewing my perspective somewhat. Are those living further uptown also receiving many phone calls, mailings, etc. from him?
Alcantara won.
I live near 96 and Bway. Every person i saw campaigning for RObert Jackson, including outside PS 75 on election day, was white. He is an education activist and drew support form the local PTAs.
“Though I continue to believe that all candidates are counting on a large portion of their votes coming from their core groups.”
identity politics are a scourge
A few points, easy to overlook in a political climate such as ours here on the UWS, concerning primary elections:
1.) Here in New York (as in a number of other states), voting in primaries is restricted to those who are registered members of one of the officially recognized parties.
2.) There are at least some registered voters who deliberately, as a matter of principle and conscience, abstain from joining any of the recognized parties.
3.) Probably for as far back as anyone alive today is likely to remember, one party has held a near-complete monopoly over New York City politics: The Democrats. Thus, the outcome of most local races is, de facto, decided by the Democratic primaries and not the general elections.
4.) In addition to Independents who are registered to vote but not in any party, there certainly are also voters who are registered in one of the recognized parties other than the Democrats.
5.) As a dissident, I am afraid that any candidate standing a viable chance in these parts must (in order to be viable), and invariably does, hold positions that preclude my supporting or voting-for any candidate who holds them. While such convictions certainly put me in a lonely place here, I take solace in knowing that I surely cannot be completely alone; surely somewhere, within this bastion of Cultural Marxism and White ethnomasochism, there must reside at least one fellow dissident.
*No exclusion of women is to be inferred from my use of masculine-gender pronouns here. It is simply the traditional generic form for cases where the sex of the noun, not specified, could be male or female.
Thank you! Someone who understands the situation.
It is the primaries which have the most impact on local New York City (and usually statewide) elections. Any candidate who wraps that choice up most always wins the general election.
People complain all the time about how little change there is in NYC government, and the two houses in Albany, but turnout at primary elections is often dismal. When you consider how low the numbers are for general elections it becomes clear how the same people get elected over and over again.
Term limits was supposed to address part of this situation; but so far if the last cycle was any indication it has just turned NYC politics into a game of musical chairs.
It is going to be interesting to see how things play out in 2021 when much of the current City Council, the comptroller, borough presidents, public advocate, etc… (assuming they are re-elected in 2017) are term limited out.
Well put. There are a few of us dissidents out there even on the UWS. As a libertarian/conservative, I count myself as one such dissident.
The Left is now the establishment and has become increasingly intolerant of anyone who departs from the Party line.
I hope that over time there can be more intellectual diversity on the UWS. A one-party state is not a healthy situation.
Anyone else find it disrespectful for Lasher’s people, who are constantly in front of and around West Side Market (97-98th and Broadway), to campaign on a Sunday? In addition this past Sunday being September 11th. Seriously how many times a day can the same people shove flyers in my face? So glad this election is over.
What is particular do you find so disrespectful? The actions of the political group or that they were “working” on Sunday?
As this nation rapidly becomes more and more secular Sunday is just a part of “the weekend”, and nothing more. Staying on that theme if you want to find persons on the streets during the day any given Sunday will suffice. Am speaking of persons who likely would be at work or otherwise out of the local area M-F during business hours.