The Democratic primaries were held in New York City on Tuesday, setting the stage for the general election in November. Most incumbent members maintained their ranks, but the election yielded a few key changes to who may control the City Council.
Below are the takeaways from the unofficial election results as of Tuesday evening.
Yusef Salaam elected to City Council
Yusef Salaam declared victory Tuesday evening in a Democratic primary for a New York City Council seat. Official results are not yet finalized due to the city’s ranked choice voting system.
Salaam is one of five men who were wrongfully convicted for the rape of a woman jogging in Central Park in 1989. At 14 years old, Salaam spent nearly seven years in prison before he was exonerated in 2002.
Former President Donald Trump took out a newspaper ad over 30 years ago calling for the state of New York to reinstate the death penalty for Salaam and the other accused teenagers in the Central Park jogger case.
“This campaign has been about those who have been counted out,” Salaam said Tuesday night in a victory speech.
Salaam, one of the group known as the Central Park Five, has slightly over 50% of voters, according to unofficial results from the city’s Board of Elections. Salaam leads over opponents Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, who holds 25%, and Assemblyman Al Taylor, who has 14.4%.
Mayor Eric Adams’s only endorsement is set to lose
Democratic Mayor Eric Adams only endorsed one candidate in the primaries, Assemblywoman for the 70th District Inez Dickens, who is expected to lose the race for a City Council seat against challenger Salaam.
The seat was up for grabs after far-left councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan withdrew from reelection after serving one term.
Dickens was endorsed by a handful of state members for New York City Council’s 9th District seat, with Adams stating she would bring the “experience of Albany” and “the experience of being a councilperson” to the role.
Adams did not directly address Dickens’s likely loss when pressed by reporters on Wednesday but instead commented on the probable fall of New York City Council incumbent Charles Barron, who is expected to lose to Chris Banks.
Incumbent Councilman Charles Barron loses to Chris Banks
Political newcomer Chris Banks will likely defeat the incumbent Councilman Charles Barron in the 42nd District.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) backed Banks’s campaign, along with state Attorney General Letitia James and Assemblywoman Nikki Lucas.
In a potential major upset, Banks has received over 50% of votes as of Tuesday, according to unofficial results, gearing up to unseat Barron who has been in elected office in New York for over two decades. His wife, Inez Barron, served on the New York City Council for the 42nd District for several years.
