The early results for the Democratic Primary in City Council District 6 are in, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer has built up a very large lead that may be insurmountable. Brewer had drawn 54% of the votes, with all precincts reporting — though there are still absentee ballots to be counted.
Update, Wednesday morning: Brewer has been declared the winner by NY1.
She led Maria Danzilo, who was in second place, by more than 12,000 votes, according to a tabulation from NY1.
Gale Brewer: 17,037 votes, 53.8%
Maria Danzilo: 4,777 votes, 15.1%
Sara Lind: 4,322 votes, 13.6%
Jeffrey Omura: 3,296 votes, 10.4%
David Gold: 1,458 votes, 4.6%
Zachary Weiner: 797 votes, 2.5%
If a candidate gets 50% of the votes after all the first-place votes are counted, then that person is declared the winner without having to go through the full ranked-choice voting process.
Brewer represented the Upper West Side for 12 years before serving as Borough President for the last eight.
Shaun Abreu was leading the race for City Council District 7 — representing a part of the neighborhood to the north — though he was far from 50%.
In the Democratic primary for mayor, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was leading with 31%, though it will likely come down to a ranked-choice voting process that could take weeks to play out. Maya Wiley and Kathryn Garcia were in second and third with just over 80% of precincts reported. Curtis Sliwa appears to have won the Republican primary for mayor.
Photo via Brewer’s Twitter account.
Really?
4 more years of Brewer?
She’s been running the show for the past 20 (!!!) years!
And it is not that great of a show.
Her directions are of the past, and her future is in the past.
Time for term limits, big time!
Gale Brewer wins again.
How sad. So sad.
Re: “She’s been running the show for the past 20 (!!!) years!…how sad”
Sad? REALLY?! Perhaps you meant “Glad”, for we should be thanking Ms. Brewer, as well as Jerry Nadler, Joe Biden, etc. for their YEARS of experience and dedication to “We, the People”.
No, they’re NOT media stars like AOC, but they’re also NOT learning-on-the-job.
Young Fogey hello, even though you sound more like an old fogey.
So you like Brewer, Nadler, Biden, etc.
I guess you did not mention countless others who have been in office for decades upon decades.
And if you think that being there does not lead to corruption of the mind, than think again.
We need younger blood to replace these lifers.
Enough is enough!
Second this. All mentioned above didn’t think about their constituents, but about their carrier.
They are just not doing the job.
😒
THANKS GAIL!!!
The UWS LOVES you!!!
(now watch the hate roll in)
Gale is incredible energetic. I look forward to having all that energy focused on our one little Council district.
Thanks for your support!!!
I really wanted a new voice for the UWS, but I voted Gail second because I *desperately* did not want Maria Danzilo, a conservative masquerading as a “moderate” democrat, to win.
Please leave your UWS woke echo chamber for a moment. Danzilo is a common sense moderate Democrat. She would be considered a bleeding heart liberal in most of America.
This extremist progressive attitude is what is going to win the Republicans Congress in 2022 and the White House in 2024. AOC is enabling Trump and the Republicans – I wish she would step away from the microphones.
Me too. They will bring us another Trump.
uwsrachel:
That was both my voting strategy, though I put Brewer 3rd, and my understanding of what Ms Danzilo represents
UWSRachel, perhaps leave your little far left, impractical bubble in Manhattan. Maria opened her record as a lifelong Democrat. Not far left does not mean “conservative.” Study political history. Clearly the far left doesn’t have a monopoly on the Democratic Party, or your AOC candidate Lind wouldn’t have come in third. She would have won. Brewer won because she has decades of name recognition, establishment endorsements, and people still view her as fairly moderate.
DeborahWest:
AOC is hardly far left. Look at how many righty Biden policies she’s voted for.
Brewer won not because of some moderateness, but because of name recognition and the fact that she is thought of as competent on like the current council member for District 6.
How can voters not recognize the need for change???
So disappointing.
It seems almost impossible for an unknown to get into local politics when so many just pull the lever for a name they’ve heard before.
That’s the whole point of “ranked choice” voting.
Is it over? Can these people – who pretend to care for the city and the world – now stop bombarding our mailboxes and sidewalks with their stupid, expensive, redundant, wasteful fliers? How many trees were destroyed for this?
I’m a lifer in this neighborhood, and this is highly disappointing but perhaps I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. Brewer barely campaigned and her “vision” was a dense block of worn-out ideas.
After careful consideration I voted for Danzilo and Omura, who vigorously campaigned with fresh perspective and worthwhile ideas (albeit somewhat contrasting ideas from each other, but still).
Ms. Danzilo and Mr. Omura, please don’t give up. Try again next time. The numbers are small. Get on community boards and block associations. Keep your names out there, and keep the pressure on.
Gale won because the primary concern of UWSers is maintaining their cheap rent. The UWS has more rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartments than any Manhattan neighborhood south of 96th St. Almost 60% of rentals on the UWS are regulated, vs. less than 50% on the Upper East Side. Gale is very effective in helping tenants keep their cheap rent.
@ Lisa
You’re 100% correct.
Now the rest of us without these entitlements will be stuck subsidizing all the folks in their cheap rent-regulated apartments.
Otis
Otis:
“entitlements”?
You have no idea of what rent stabilization is.
Also if you pay a mortgage, anywhere in the USA, not just in NYC, you’re taking advantage of welfare, an actual entitlement.
And if you work in finance, or commercial real estate, or just have a 401K, you received massive welfares throughout 2020 and now 2021.
Liza:
Rent Stabilization is a state law, and there are very very few rent controlled apartments left in the City/.
Brewer won because of her name, and because of H. Rosenthal’s incompetence. Since residents can look back at Brewer having been competent.
When I saw the initial results for this City Council race, I laughed, imagining the blasts that would inevitably come from all the cranky Republicans and right-wing Democrats who post on this blog. Congratulations, Ms. Brewer! I know you will represent our district and our city well, as you have all along.
Does Zach coming in last prove that not all publicity is good publicity? And what’s with candidates named Weiner, they seem to have similar problems with their campaigns.
Honestly, my reaction was “I couldn’t care less about THAT, but 26 years old? Come on.” He may be a bright kid, but I didn’t see any qualifications for the job.
What qualifications does one need to be a City Council member?
I don’t care about his sexual activities (as long as they’re legal) but anyone immature enough to put themselves in a situation where their dominatrix sessions wind up on the internet is not someone I can vote for. Also, if you read his website he really, really has no qualifications for the job, or for practically any job. He couldn’t work in my office as an assistant.
This is pathetic. For years, her worn-out idealism has contributed to the decline of the UWS. Homeless shelters now saturate the neighborhood, mentally ill people own the streets, and drug addicts lurk in the shadows. And yet she (and her disciple Helen Rosenthal) are the first ones to march in opposition to developments or ideas that would help offset these problems. Gonna be another loooong 4 years.
Let’s not forget her ill-conceived idea to eliminate big stores by limiting a single store’s frontage. So now we have clusters of vacant stores.
Wasn’t there a story here a while back about how there are fewer vacant storefronts on Amsterdam as opposed to Columbus because Brewer’s restrictions against combining storefronts is effective on Amsterdam but not Columbus?
Exactly right! Her policy HELPED the small businesses in neighborhood.
Agreed Rob G, but it’s two years. Then we have another opportunity for change. So let’s watch Gale carefully. Her message so far is nothing, and not one of unity as it should be. Let’s see if our neighborhood improves and recovers or continues down this destructive path where no one in need gets effective help.
DeborahWest:
Council terms are 4 years.
Every 20 years there are 2 two year terms instead of a single 4 year term in order to accommodate new district lines.
I guess people don’t care about Gale Brewer supporting someone for deputy mayor who wanted NYPD to profile Muslims/against mosques. If anything Gale Brewer should apologize for endorsing James Oddo for deputy mayor.
How do you endorse someone for Deputy Mayor? There’s no election for that.
Mark Moore:
The OP said “support” not endorse, but then the Borough Presidents and City Council (Brewer’s 2 NYC elected offices) don’t really have any great power over whom the mayor appoints as Deputy Mayors.
It is a disappointment to read the claim, which I have not independently confirmed, that Brewer supported such unconstitutional+xenophobic based profiling.
It says endorse:
“If anything Gale Brewer should apologize for endorsing James Oddo for deputy mayor.”
Well, “endorsing”, but I did miss the transition from supporting to endorsing.
However,again, Brewer likely had little influence on whom Bill D appointed as deputy mayors.
So much for the spirit of term limits.
This will be her 4th term in what is supposed to be a 2-term office. She stole her 3rd term along with Bloomberg when he and the council thwarted the restriction for themselves. Now she has used her “break” to serve a limited 2 terms as borough president to requalify to run again for city council. And it worked!
Talk about a career politician. Wasn’t that what term limits was meant to curtail?
Congrats to Gale, perhaps the most beloved and effective UWS politician since Bella Abzug. The very fact that she entered the race late and yet got 50% of the vote shows just how beloved and trusted she is by the majority of UWSers, who have been her constituents for years.
We had several qualified newcomers to politics running in this district. I was disappointed that Gale ran. She had her extended time in the Council and I thought it was time for new perspectives and fresh ideas, which was why I voted for Omura and Lind. Well, maybe next time. Gale won on name recognition more than anything else, I think.
They both have bright futures. I voted for both of them too. Thanks for giving new voices a chance, Art.
Congrats to Gale. She is thoroughly good government – I’m glad she will still have a significant say in our city.
Ms. Brewer’s first move come January 2022 will likely be moving in on city council speaker position. Citing her vast “institutional knowledge” of city council as making her the only logical choice in a sea of newbies.
This is horrible news, proves upper west siders do not care about their living conditions.
16 years ago she won City Council 7 promising to end Helicopters menacing the UWS. Fixing the 86 street subway entrances (chipping paint covering cracked tiles)
HASN’T HAPPENED YET.
Now we have the army of homeless.
There have been helicopters and low flying planes near the area of 72nd and WEA since last weekend. According to the Citizen app, the helicopters belong to the NYPD, but there’s no explanation for the planes. Does anyone have a clue why they’re out there?
I would conclude from these comments that if the left wing progressives hate you AND the right wing people who worry about homeless from the Lucerne Hotel and have bought into the NY Post narrative that the City is going to hell hate you then you’re doing something right as a politician.
Congratulations Gale.
LOL. Well-stated.
Can someone who voted for Brewer explain why you thought she deserved to get re-elected? What has she done for District 6? I need to be educated because I don’t understand how so many people supported her.
Any of the other candidates would have been better but clearly most disagree because she was soundly elected. It wasn’t even close. So please educate me on what she’s done and why you voted for her.
UpperWestSider: I did not vote for her, but those that did are those who want to hang onto their below-market rent regulated units. 60% of UWS renters fall into this category. Gale is behind these people all the way. That’s why she won. Below=market rent that’s not income based. So many teachers and public employees have second homes outside the city thanks to this un-earned perk. Silly me for sharing a one-bedroom with roommates for so many years to afford to by a tiny studio. I’m a sucker.
Congratulations to Gale Brewer on winning her District 6 council seat, she is the most qualified and experienced. I never heard of the 5 people that ran against her, except for some info in a mailer that some sent. Gale won because voters know and trust her to represent them.