VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated September 2, 2022

New York’s additional primary election, which was added to the electoral schedule after the redistricting process needed to be redone for the state’s congressional and State Senate lines, took place on August 23. This primary followed the regularly scheduled primary that took place June 28 and finalized the names on the ballot for the June 6 general election.

New York’s new tenth congressional district had received the lion’s share of attention in New York City for this late summer primary. The new district will cover the lower portion of Manhattan from around 14^th Street, through Dumbo, Downtown Brooklyn, Red Hook, Prospect Park, Sunset Park and Borough Park, ending in the south around Bay Ridge Avenue in Bay Ridge.

The crowded field for the NY-10 Democratic primary included over a dozen candidates, with 90 percent of the vote going to five of them. Ultimately, Dan Goldman, who is best known for serving as Counsel during the first impeachment of former president Donald Trump, edged out Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, though his 25 percent of the vote was far from a referendum from Democratic voters.

In neighboring NY-11, the race was not as close. Former Representative Max Rose received over 74 percent of the vote against first-time candidate Brittany Ramos Debarros. Rose’s primary win sets up a rematch of the 2020 NY-11 general election contest between himself and Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, this time with Rose switching roles and playing the challenger to a one-term incumbent.

On the State Senate side, the Democratic primary for district 23, which nine-time incumbent Diane Savino decided not to run for again, featured four candidates on the Democratic ballot. The new lines reduced the Brooklyn side of the district to just the Fort Hamilton army base and the Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach peninsula. Former Savino staffer Jessica Scarcella-Spanton carried the Democratic primary with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

The newly drawn senate district 26 will include all of Bay Ridge, as well as most of the Brooklyn neighborhood’s north to the Brooklyn Bridge that are part of the new tenth congressional district. State Senator Andrew Gounardes ran for this new district, facing off against former City Councilman David Yassky, who is from the northernmost portion of the new SD-26. The final result had Gounardes winning with 66 percent of the vote.

Yassky had represented much of the northern part of this new district, having served for eight years in the City Council and even though Gounardes was an incumbent senator, 80 percent of SD-26 was new compared to the district he has represented since first being sworn in, in January of 2019. Adding in the fact that the already low turnout primary elections seen in midterm years figured to be even lower for this second 2022 primary that had created a great deal of confusion among the electorate, the result did not appear assured.

However, in the end, Gounardes won again quite easily. This latest victory was a testament to the type of senator he has been. The diligent, workhorse-like determination that has led to more than 60 pieces of his legislation being passed in less than four years is the same work ethic that ensured the Democratic voters who had never previously seen his name on their ballot, discovered who he is and what he is about.

With New York Republicans looking to bring the national GOP’s platform of denying reproductive health rights, instituting “Don’t Say Gay” laws, and helping the wealthy avoid paying their fair share in taxes, it is more important than ever to elect proven leaders like Gounardes who not only stand for the right things, but get things done. It is clear that is what he will do over his next two-year term.

There is still a general election for Gounardes to first get past, and although the high percentage of registered Democrats in his district mean he is the overwhelming favorite, he will continue to work hard to get every last vote until Election Day on November 8. And bright and early on November 9, he will be outside a subway stop greeting constituents, just as he has done after every primary and general election he has won.