This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated June 11, 2021
This year’s primary Election Day will take place on Tuesday, June 22, but early voting begins Saturday, June 12 and continues through Sunday, June 20. You can confirm your early voting site by visiting the vote.nyc website.
All City and Borough offices will hold elections this year. Here in Brooklyn, your primary vote can help decide the nominees for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President, City Council, and some judicial seats.
By far, the race that has garnered the most attention this cycle has been the one for the city’s 110th Mayor. The extremely crowded Democratic field, which at one point had over 30 declared candidates, has winnowed quite a bit. Recent polling has also shown a race that is starting to take shape, with only 8 candidates polling above 1 percent.
The field had been led for many months by Andrew Yang, who entered with the most name recognition after his 2020 presidential campaign saw him remain on debate stages with the most favored candidates far longer than anyone expected. However, polls have shown him on a steady downward trajectory. Gaffes that have made him sound like he is out of touch with typical New Yorkers have not helped his prospects.
The candidate who has gone in the other direction of late, has been Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, as most polls show him having risen to the top spot now. Kathryn Garcia has also placed higher in recent polls, now challenging the longtime leaders in this race.
The polling numbers, as well as the experts, would tell you that those three candidates are the top contenders for the party’s nomination, but with somewhere between 10 to 20 percent of voters still undecided, a lot can change in the coming few weeks.
“As this race has progressed and many candidates have shown why they would not be the right choice to lead this city, I have been increasingly impressed with Maya Wiley.”
The more progressive group of candidates that have polled in the top eight, has consisted of Scott Stringer, Dianne Morales, and Maya Wiley. After an accusation of sexual misconduct from twenty years ago, Scott Stringer saw his long list of endorsements mostly disappear, as many were rescinded. Following campaign staff complaining of a hostile working environment, the acrimonious departure of her campaign manager, and her workers initiating a walkout, the Morales campaign seems to have sustained several blows it cannot recover from.
Maya Wiley has seen a slight uptick in her poll numbers, likely absorbing some support that was formerly with the Stringer and Morales campaigns. I will be honest, when Maya Wiley first announced her run for Mayor last October, I was intrigued. However, after seeing her in several forums fall somewhat flat, I was surprised and disappointed. After all, she has been most prominent the past few years as a cable news guest, in which she exceled in her thoughtful analysis.
As this race has progressed and many candidates have shown why they would not be the right choice to lead this city, I have been increasingly impressed with Maya Wiley. I have also realized that a few performances at some early forums that were not as engaging as her short guest spots on cable news, is not an important barometer for evaluating a candidate.
There are two other Democratic candidates in the top eight, each garnering 5 percent or less in the most recent polls. Shaun Donovan and Ray McGuire have been unable to gain more support despite them each having blanketed the airwaves with campaign commercials.
As the best progressive candidate in this field, who also happens to be the only progressive candidate that can consolidate support among that wing of the party, while also winning over undecided voters and some who have been supporting more moderate candidates, Maya Wiley will be the candidate I rank number one for mayor on my ballot and I suggest you do the same.
I also suggest you fully utilize the ranked choice voting system voters approved a few years ago. It would take another column to go over who to rank numbers two to five and I have not made those choices yet myself, but these other rankings may very well determine the winner, so consider all the candidates and make sure you rank your top five.
