Migrant crisis and crime are key issues on New Yorkers’ minds as ahead of Election Day votes
The migrant crisis and crime are likely to be at the forefront of some Big Apple voters’ minds as they head to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots for their New York City Council reps – as mounting anger over the key issues could drive turnout.
Despite Democrats dominating Gotham’s local races historically, several Republicans will be looking to gain power after making inroads in more moderate districts, political watchers said.
“Democrats can’t take anything for granted in this political environment,” said Kevin Elkins, political director for the NYC District Council of Carpenters.
Up for grabs for the GOP could be more than a dozen of the 51 City Council seats where the districts have turned purple recently in the heavily Democratic Big Apple when voters are given their final chance to cast ballots on Nov. 7.
The GOP’s representation on the City Council has doubled from 3 to 6 in recent elections with the help of redistricting as well the shift to the right for many Asian voters, helping Republicans pick up seats in both Brooklyn and Queens.
Still, analysts are looking at whether anger over key issues plaguing the Big Apple, including the asylum seekers crisis and the Israel-Hamas war, could push voters to the polls and serve as a bellwether for the 2024 presidential race and mid-term congressional elections.
“New York is a one-party, Democrat town.” said Democratic political consultant Ken Frydman. “But, thanks largely to the city’s migrant crisis, Democrats face challenges from Republicans in many of the 37 contested council races.”
“Democrat candidates for city council are also facing more conservative ethnic group shifts in the outer boroughs.”
Polls open at 6 a.m. and will close at 9 p.m. where two ballot initiatives will also be decided.
In addition to the City Council seats, Queens residents will also have the district attorney race on their ballots. Two other incumbent DAs in Staten Island and The Bronx are running unopposed.
Ahead of election day, turnout has been light — with 110,000 early votes and absentee ballots filed as of early Monday out of the 5.1 million registered voters, according to the city Board of Elections.
The final tally might only clear 200,000 votes, given there are only a handful of competitive Council races and no citywide contests.
Here are some of the City Council races The Post is watching:
District 47 — Justin Brannan (D) vs Ari Kagan (R)
The marquee contest is the 47th Council district in southern Brooklyn. Because of redistricting, Council members Justin Brannan and Ari Kagan are pitted against each other in a newly drawn district.
Brannan, a Democrat from Bay Ridge, chairs the Council’s powerful finance committee and previously worked in the city Department of Education under former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Kagan, a Democrat-turned-Republican, is a Jewish refugee from Belarus.
The Hamas-Israel war weighs heavily on residents there given the large Palestinian population in Bay Ridge and a big Jewish population in Bath Beach, Coney Island and Sea Gate.
Brannan recently landed an endorsement from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, but it was unclear how that would help his campaign.
Both parties have said the race in the newly created district is a wild card and anything could happen.
District 19 — Vickie Paladino (R) vs Tony Avella (D)
Firebrand Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino is facing a second challenge from Democrat Tony Avella, a former state lawmaker and councilman, to represent the 19th District northeast Queens.
The two faced off in 2021 and Paladino netted a narrow 390-vote win over Avella in the showdown to represent the 19th District.
Nearly 50% of the voters in the district are registered Democrats but during the mayoral election, Curtis Sliwa carried the district handily over Mayor Eric Adams.
But Paladino’s first two years on the Council have been marked by a slew of controversies.
She defied City Hall mandates to receive the coronavirus vaccine; was condemned for saying drag queens used their performances at city-funded literature programs to ‘groom’ children; and her son and spokesman, Thomas Paladino Jr., was busted driving an Aston-Martin with likely phony paper license plates.
District 43 — Ying Tan (R) vs Susan Zhuang (D) vs Vito LaBella
In Brooklyn’s newly drawn 43rd district, Democrat Susan Zhuang faces off against Republican Ying Tan and Conservative Party nominee Vito LaBella.
Republicans have made inroads in the district, which includes Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Dyker Heights and Sunset Park.
LaBella, though, who is running on the Conservative Party line is expected to split the Republican vote with Tan.
Crime has been a hot topic among many of the voters in the district, specifically the uptick in hate crimes against the Asian community.
Other races The Post is watching:
In another heavily Asian district that includes Flushing and Fresh Meadows in Queens, Democrat incumbent Sandra Ung faces a tough challenge from Republican Yu-Ching James Pai in a rematch race where public safety is expected to be key.
In Bronx’s District 13, Democratic incumbent Marjorie Velazquez faces a spirited challenge from Republican Kristy Marmorato, the sister of county GOP chairman Michael Rendino.
In District 23, the migrant crisis, with the planned tent shelter at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, could come into play as incumbent Linda Lee (D) takes on Bernard Chow (R).
Incumbent incumbent Inna Vernikov (R), who found herself in the news last month after being arrested on a gun charge after being photographed packing near a protest, will square off against Amber Adler and Igor Kazatsker (Team Trump) in the 48th district.
Meanwhile, in the Queens District attorney’s race, Democrat incumbent Melinda Katz is being challenged by Republican-Conservative Michael Mossa and George Grasso, a former NYPD deputy commissioner, who is running on the Public Safety line. Grasso opted for a third-party line after losing to Katz in the Democratic primary.
A former two-term borough president and previously a state and city legislator, Katz is expected to win handily.
On Staten Island, popular Democrat incumbent District Attorney Michael McMahon is running unopposed — a rarity in the most conservative borough where the congressional rep and the borough president are Republicans.
In the Bronx, Democratic incumbent DA Darcel Clark also is running unopposed.
