Marisol Alcantara was declared the victor by NY1 in a relatively tight primary race for state senate on Tuesday, giving a lift to a dissident group of state Democrats who have helped throw state senate control to the Republicans. With nearly 95 percent of precincts reporting, Robert Jackson was in second, Micah Lasher was third, and Luis Tejada was fourth.
Alcantara was supported by the Independent Democratic Conference, a split-off group that has kept Democrats from taking control of the senate and given Republicans more control over issues like education and transportation in the city. WNYC has the full results, and this was the tally with 94.5% of precincts reporting.
Update: Lasher had pulled into second by the time nearly 99.6% of votes were counted.
The map below from WNYC shows where the various candidates won:
State assembly members Linda Rosenthal and Daniel O’Donnell also won reelection by large majorities, with 96% and 80% of the vote respectively with most votes counted.
At my polling place, the elementary school on West 76 between Amsterdam and Columbus, these candidates were not on the ballot at all!
Can the mater be investigated?
Diana Bloom
Re: “Can the mater be investigated?”
Probably, but shouldn’t we also investigate the Pater?
That would surely satisfy the many who worry about “Mom-and-Pop” emporiums and stuff !
🙂
State senate districts were severely gerrymandered on the Upper West Side, and the neighborhood is actually served by three different senators (arguably diluting our political power), so you may not have been in the contested district.
Indeed, just another form of corruption where the representatives choose their voters. Hey, but just give the corruption a nice name like gerrymandering and you simply sound intelligent when using it. Nothing to see here, move on citizen.
Gerrymandering is a nice word???
Thanks for the info!
From an education blog:
“There is another candidate in the race, Marisol Alcantara, who also supports the expansion of charter schools and whose campaign has been funded almost exclusively from the IDC, the renegade breakaway group of Democratic Senators who consistently vote with the Republicans, allowing them to keep control of the State Senate. The Republicans running the State Senate (whose campaigns are ironically now being funded by the hedge-fund billionaires behind StudentsFirstNY) have consistently voted against fairly funding NYC public schools and voted for encouraging unlimited charter school expansion, which are already draining more than a billion dollars from the DOE budget and taking precious space from our overcrowded public schools.”
“Dark money” arrived in force in local NYC campaigns this year with billionaires putting money into candidates running against those candidates who are in favor of public schools, raising the minimum wage, and unions. I know people are busy, but we need to show up at the polls and vote for candidates, like Robert Jackson, who support us. Alcantara only beat him by 700 votes! Now, we have in Alcantara, a candidate bought and paid for by hedge fund billionaires. Lasher was no better.
Yes PS Mom you’re right certainly will be the unreported story of the day. Less than 25,000 people voted for these 4 candidates, like to know the number of eligible voters in the district. Folks not acting locally, we then complain about “the mess and corruption in Albany.”
I voted for Robert Jackson. He is an outstanding progressive public servant and a thoroughly decent man.
But but but.. why didn’t he make an issue of the corrupt, right wing charter schools and their hedge fund supported lobby? this was not mentioned in any of his literature or discussed anywhere.
I brought this up to his campaigners whenever i saw them. And they all agreed with me. But still, as far as i saw, not one word against the charters.
I agree. Maybe that’s just not his style. Maybe it had something to do with the short period of time from Espallait’s victory in the Congressional primary and this primary. I think though that candidates in the future will have to adopt a more aggressive Zephyr Teachout style. She has called out by name a wealthy guy who is funding her opponent and challenged that person, not her opponent, to a debate.
I will give every prop in the world to Robert Jackson, as a person and as an advocate.
But he had every right in the world to talk against charter schools. in fact, he should have! that is part of the political education process. it is a huge issue. they are destroying public education.
I didn’t know until AFTER she won that Alcantara was funded by the charters.
https://nyenr.elections.state.ny.us/home.aspx
According to this web site it’s about 140K.
The shape of this district shows you everything that is wrong with politics today. Districts are supposed to be “compact and contiguous” but that is not really the case here. One would think there is a computer model that could spit out a better solution in a political impartial way.
As of April of this year, there were a bit more than 140,000 “Active” Registered Democrats in the 31st District.
https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/enrollment/senate/senate_apr16.pdf
Voting should be compulsory. Fined if your choose to sit out
Compulsory voting?
What a thoroughly disturbing, downright tyrannical thought!
What about individuals who, for any number of reasons, deliberately abstain–on principle— from voting? You would have the State force them to violate their conscience?
In the case of people who simply lack the motivation to vote, why would you even want them to? Elections determined by votes cast not out of any principle, conviction or earnest belief but simply under duress, to avoid penalty? Have you even thought about the implications of your position?
Any other sacred freedoms you would like to see abolished by the State?
————-
Nor should the State make voting any easier, as is advocated for by many. On the contrary, far too many of the individuals who presently vote and determine elections are woefully ignorant and grossly unfit to do so. What should be compulsory, therefore, is a test of basic civic literacy that everyone must pass before being allowed to vote. No individual who does not understand the the basic functions of each of the three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial, and the difference between them has any business voting.
Also, the utter folly of the numerous ways, all at taxpayer expense, that individuals of foreign tongue are pandered-to and indulged in elections must end, posthaste. (Is there any foreign country that would so cater-to and indulge an American immigrant to their land?) Why should sufficient proficiency in the national language, English, to be able to read and understand a ballot, directions to a polling place and any other material that may be necessary in order to vote, be anything less than an absolute prerequisite to being able to do so? Would any truly loyal and committed new citizen be anything less-than eager and proud to master the language of their adopted land to at least that minimal degree?
Dear Independent, you are SO right!
I agree with you 100%. You said I perfectly. My parents came here from Hungary with two children after waiting years for a visa. They did not speak English but made it a priority to learn as soon as they could. They felt it was so important; but did not have to abandon their native tongue. They also became citizens as soon as possible so they could vote. What is the excuse today? Laziness?
I am glad that you appreciated my post, Elizabeth M., and I thank you for telling me so.
“On the contrary, far too many of the individuals who presently vote and determine elections are woefully ignorant and grossly unfit to do so.” – Independent
you decided this on your own?
Except that we have basic freedoms, including the freedom not to vote. So there’s that.
then there’s that income tax thing
ja
Considering the amount of money Lasher put into this thing, I’m shocked he lost. I got communications daily from him. Email, mailers, robocalls… I heard from Jackson once, and never heard from Alcantara. I guess the far westside doesn’t matter to her.
Clearly she spent her money efficiently as she got enough votes to win. Lasher must have spent a fortune – his cost per vote was very high. Though as I’ve noted before, I was in his target market (UWS) so I don’t know if he spent more on me than on others. Is there disclosure on such things?
there’s an old, proven saw among political strategists:
lose the WSR readership
…lose the election
I don’t think that’s such a good thing. Alcantra had already stated that she intended to caucus with the Republicans! We voted om a Primary on the DEMOCRAT line! The merry group in Albany is predominantly Republican. Those of us who vote as Democrats went to the polls to vote in a Dem. Party selection and made our choices as such. Ms Alcantra ran as a Democrat, but apparently the folks who voted for her either didn’t read her stated position or didn’t understand her position. The effect: we Dmmocrats have chosen a functioning Republican to represent us. Or am I misstating the turn of events?
You nailed it,
From what I am reading, sorry I did not come out to vote. Would not have voted for Alcantara, I do not agree with charter schools and certainly do not appreciate Democrats taking graph from and supporting Republicans to keep control of the Senate. These pseudo Dems should become Republicans and run as such. That said, this is first time I did not vote in a very long time and I was really resistant and objecting based on the number of primaries held in New York since the first one in April for president. There have been what–one or perhaps two more polling days since then and yesterday was one more! What is going on? The graft and corruption in NYS is disgusting. Why do we need so many primaries, wasting both time and money? It was explained to me that Albany makes these decisions so the powers that be can stay in control. This needs to be changed, definitely. This waste is ridiculous and an abuse of the citizens of New York. I now feel really bad that I turned my back on this election and did not do my homework and come out to vote against the continuation of this abuse.
This district is the very definition of gerrymandering. And for all the talk of IDC and schools, in the end New Yorkers showed again that they vote based on perceived tribal lines and not on, you know, actual policy.
What an embarrassment to democracy. The worst part is that Espaillat will now feel like a bigger shotcaller than ever. He’s fast approaching untouchable.
Robert Jackson was one of the worst city council reps when it came to housing. So many real estate deals he allowed by HPD and now coop resident are screwed by no oversight by HPD since HPD has no understanding when it comes to oversight. Jackson ran for Borough President just recently. same mantra bla bla bla When you called his council office the tunover was high and staff incompetent when it came to housing issues