News: POLITICO New York Playbook: Adams leads mayor’s race — Bragg ahead for Manhattan DA

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

POLITICO New York Playbook: Adams leads mayor’s race — Bragg ahead for Manhattan DA — Buffalo, Rochester mayors may be ousted

Jun 23, 2021

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Téa Kvetenadze

Presented by Equinor

After a long election night, here's what we know: Eric Adams has the most first choice votes in the Democratic mayoral primary, coming in around 31 percent. Andrew Yang is out, having conceded last night after finishing fourth. But the ranked-choice vote count is yet to come, and Maya Wiley and Kathryn Garcia are still in the game.

Adams opened up a sizable lead over Wiley, who has 22 percent of the vote, and Garcia, at 20 percent. He projected confidence as he took the stage last night, acknowledging down-ballot votes need to be counted before he can declare victory. "We know that. But there's something else we know: that New York City said our first choice is Eric Adams," the Brooklyn borough president said. "I'm going to promise you in one year — one year — you're going to see a different city."

Yang's decision to bow out was a remarkable turnabout for a candidate who dominated polls for months and easily grabbed headlines. "You all know I am a numbers guy," he told supporters. "And I am not going to be the next mayor of New York City based upon the numbers that have come in. Tonight, I am conceding this race."

Wiley and Garcia are waiting and watching on all those second choice and third choice votes and beyond, which will be tallied in the coming weeks. In the vast majority of ranked-choice elections around the country, the first place winner ultimately prevails, but there are exceptions.

Whoever ultimately prevails, they'll face Republican Curtis Sliwa in the November general election. That one we know for sure, since he won by a large margin in a two-man race against Fernando Mateo and was declared the winner last night.

IT'S WEDNESDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: EDurkin@politico.com and agronewold@politico.com, or on Twitter: @erinmdurkin and @annagronewold

WHERE'S ANDREW? No public schedule.

WHERE'S BILL? Holding a media availability.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I'm not telling you, brother" — Mayor Bill de Blasio when asked by reporters if he ranked Eric Adams No. 1 on his ballot.

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WHAT CITY HALL'S READING

Former federal prosecutor close to winning Manhattan DA primary, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: Former federal prosecutor Alvin Bragg opened up a lead in the Democratic primary for Manhattan district attorney, besting a field of seven other candidates vying to become the likely successor to outgoing DA Cy Vance. Bragg, should he go on to win the general election in November, would become the first Black Manhattan district attorney and take over a high-profile investigation of former President Donald Trump's businesses, as well as other major inquiries. By early Wednesday morning, Bragg had 34 percent of the vote in the borough, compared to Tali Farhadian Weinstein's 30 percent, with nearly 90 percent of precincts reporting. Absentee ballots still have to be counted.

Lander takes lead in comptroller race, final outcome to be determined by ranked-choice voting, by POLITICO's Joe Anuta: City Council Member Brad Lander was leading the race for city comptroller as polls closed Tuesday night, though the ultimate winner may not be known for weeks. With nearly 90 percent of precincts reporting, Lander led with more than 30 percent of the vote. Council Speaker Corey Johnson was trailing with 23 percent and former CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera with 14 percent, according to election night returns from the city's Board of Elections. Because no one reached a 50 percent threshold, the race will be decided by ranked-choice voting, once all absentee ballots arrive at the elections board.

"Guardian Angels Founder Curtis Sliwa Is Projected Winner Of Republican Mayoral Primary," by CBSNewYork: "Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa is the projected winner of the Republican mayoral primary in New York City, according to the Associated Press. The longtime radio talk show host known for his red berets and focus on crime defeated businessman Fernando Mateo. 'I have to undo what this part time mayor Bill de Blasio has done to all of us,' Sliwa said Tuesday night. 'He has taken a wrecking ball to this city that we love.' Sliwa faces long odds in the general election. His Democratic opponent may not be known for weeks."

" N.Y. City Council Is Set for a Complete Overhaul in Primary Election," by The New York Times' Michael Gold: "When New York City's mayor leaves office at the end of the year, more than half the members of the City Council will follow him out the door, leaving a city still finding its footing after the pandemic in the untested hands of a freshly elected mayor and a legislative body packed with newcomers. It was largely unclear which newcomers those would be when the polls closed on Tuesday: The outcome of many races in Tuesday's primary was still unknown, though a number of incumbents seeking re-election coasted to an easy victory, with others poised to follow suit. In most of the races — which are crowded with candidates vying for open seats — no winner was expected to be declared."

'I like having the option': Voters hit the polls for an historic NYC election, by POLITICO's Janaki Chadha, Téa Kvetenadze, Madina Touré, and Erin Durkin: After millions of dollars spent and countless hours of campaigning by the candidates, Tuesday is all about the voters of New York City who embark on a new era in choosing their next city government. Ranked-choice voting, making its debut in the biggest city in America for Tuesday's primary, allows voters to rank up to five candidates in order of preference for mayor, city comptroller and the City Council. The process has thrown uncertainty and more than a little consternation into the process as frontrunner Eric Adams decried a strategic ranked-choice alliance struck between rivals Kathryn Garcia and Andrew Yang over the weekend. As is often the case in New York City, residents had a variety of opinions Tuesday on the new system. "I like having the option," said Shannon Sciaretta, 24, who ranked Maya Wiley, Garcia, Yang and Dianne Morales, in that order. "Instead of picking one candidate I can pick a bunch of them, and maybe one of them will stick."

— Frontrunner Eric Adams shares emotional moment after casting his vote, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg: An emotional Eric Adams opened up about the recent death of his elderly mother as he emerged from his Brooklyn polling station to cast an early-morning vote for his mayoral bid. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president who is leading the Democratic field, recalled rushing from a campaign event to his mother's hospital bed and bearing witness to her final moments. "She transitioned a few months ago, at the height of the election, and I never had time to mourn," Adams told a crush of reporters outside his polling station.

— The Onion has an idea of how smug de Blasio might feel.

— SPOTTED: Bloomberg at Citi Field

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WHAT ALBANY'S READING

Buffalo's Walton on verge of becoming first big city socialist mayor in 60 years, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: Political newcomer and unabashed socialist India Walton is on the verge of defeating Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown in a Democratic primary on Tuesday night. It would be a stunning loss for one of the most prominent figures in New York's Democratic establishment. If Walton holds onto her lead and goes on to win the general election, she would become the first socialist mayor of a large American city since Milwaukee's Frank Zeidler, who left office in 1960. As the state's progressives struggled to drive the narrative in New York City's mayoral election, organizations such as the left-leaning Working Families Party made Walton's campaign a major priority. Still, she had scant resources compared with her well-established opponent, an ally of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. With over 99 percent of in-person votes counted, Walton led Brown 52 percent to 45 percent.

"Malik Evans wins big over incumbent Lovely Warren in primary for Rochester mayor," by Democrat and Chronicle's Brian Sharp: "City Councilman Malik Evans won a convincing primary election victory Tuesday over two-term incumbent Mayor Lovely Warren. Unofficial results had Evans with more than 65% of the vote with two districts yet to report. The primary effectively decides the race. Warren will not be on the ballot in November. And the city tilts heavily Democratic. 'This is some party,' Evans said, speaking to supporters shortly before 10:30 p.m. 'Tonight is the true beginning of our journey together to put Rochester in the upper echelon of U.S. cities, where it belongs.' But the June primary means Warren has another six months in what now is a lame duck administration with a full agenda from policing to housing to exploring some form of universal basic income. Evans will remain in his role as Finance Committee chairman on City Council."

— Albany mayor Kathy Sheehan "coasted to a comfortable win" over her primary challenger.

RACE FOR THE OTHER PLACE: " Rep. Lee Zeldin picks up support from WNY elected Republican in race for governor," by Spectrum News' Nick Reisman: "Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin's bid for the party's gubernatorial nomination continued to pick up endorsements from elected officials on Tuesday as his campaign announced the backing of western New York Sen. Pat Gallivan. 'New York needs a governor who can lead by example, who will make New Yorkers proud and honor the public trust,' Gallivan said in a statement... The endorsement from Gallivan is the latest institutional nod Zeldin has received as he seeks to become the favorite to win the nomination in the race for governor more than a year in advance."

THE EMPIRE CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY filed 62 Freedom of Information Law requests for coronavirus-related records from the Department of Health, which "demand a broad range of public records documenting the toll of the virus across New York as well as officials' attempts to contain what became one of the deadliest disasters in state history," per a Tuesday press release.

— Workers at group homes for intellectually and developmentally disabled New Yorkers in New York State are falling behind in Covid-19 vaccinations, according to data from the state's Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

"Probes widen into customer impact of alleged National Grid kickbacks," by Newsday's Mark Harrington: "LIPA, PSEG and the state said they are scouring contracts and payments to a Long Island company implicated for allegedly giving kickbacks to five former National Grid employees, widening an investigation into whether Long Island utility customers were put on the hook for wrongful costs. The expanded probes are examining possible impacts on electricity ratepayers as well as those for National Grid's gas business. The federal investigation into the alleged scheme itself is continuing."

MAKING MORE ROUNDS — Gary Holmes, the former assistant commissioner of public affairs at the Department of Health, has accepted a new position as vice president of public affairs at Mower. His official start date is July 6.

#UpstateAmerica: The almost-famous salt potato will be immortalized with a roadside marker in Syracuse.

AROUND NEW YORK

— If you're getting ready for a "slutty summer" (and who isn't?), New York City's health department is urging everyone to get vaccinated before you "have group sex, multiple sex partners or sex with people you do not know."

— The Brighton ax murder hearing has begun.

— A portion of the city's chokehold ban law was struck down by a Manhattan judge as unconstitutionally vague.

— The Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to stop issuing new for-hire licenses for electric vehicles, thwarting a planned new service by Revel.

— The Staten Island Ferry will resume full service at least every half hour, 24 hours a day starting in August.

— The Empire State Plaza fireworks are returning July 4.

— A decorated 38-year-old Marine veteran pleaded guilty to illegally owning a number of firearms he hoarded in an Albany storage facility and at least three other states.

— GlobalFoundries is moving forward with a new computer chip factory in Singapore, not the Cap Region.

— Fifteen more people have come forward to say they were sexually abused by an elementary school principal in Hilton.

— Thousands of misdemeanor marijuana cases were dismissed in Queens at the request of DA Melinda Katz.

— The MTA honored a dog who ran through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel, as well as the officers who rescued her.

— The New York City Public Design Commission voted unanimously to move the Theodore Roosevelt statue outside the American Museum of Natural History.

— Residents are fighting to keep an unofficial dog park open in Fort Greene.

— Artists added the strategically placed letter P on signs at the 72nd Street 1/2/3 subway stop to make them read "72 Streep" in honor of, well, Meryl Streep's 72nd birthday.

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SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Adam Boehler … Jeremy Katz of D1 Capital Partners … Verizon's Hans Vestberg … Aaron Cutler of Hogan Lovells … Emma Whitestone … Jerry Speyer … Robert Kaplan of CNAS and Eurasia Group … Ryan Woodbury … Josh Lauder … Brian Pomper … Caitlin Dorman ... Mark Leder … Robbie Lezama

PODCAST DU JOUR — Laura Cox Kaplan interviewed Goldman Sachs' Dina Powell McCormick for an episode titled "Generosity is a leadership skill" for her "She Said/She Said" podcast.

ENGAGED — Lucas Zavala, a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer in the international economics section at Princeton, recently proposed to Amanda Zheutlin, a senior scientist at Janssen. The couple met during their PhDs at Yale (in economics and psychology, respectively) when they planned events for the McDougal Center for Graduate Student Life. Pic

MAKING MOVES — Bob Robertson is now chief marketing officer at Jackson Lewis. He most recently was a senior consultant at PP&C Consulting. … Adrian Untermyer is now a transactional attorney at NJ Transit. He most recently was a law clerk for Margaret Cangilos-Ruiz, chief U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Northern District of New York.

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REAL ESTATE

"Related sues Joseph Tabak for skipping rent in Hudson Yards," by The Real Deal's Orion Jones: "Veteran dealmaker Joseph Tabak has facilitated over $13 billion worth of real estate transactions in his three-decade-plus career. Now, he's being sued over less than $50,000. The Princeton Real Estate Partners chairman has been skipping out on rent at his Hudson Yards apartment, Related Companies alleges. Rent for Tabak's unit at 530 West 30th Street costs $9,600 per month, but January is the last time Related received a payment, the landlord claimed in a complaint filed Tuesday. Related is seeking $48,000 in back payments for rent and electricity. A similarly priced unit in the building offers two bedrooms and two baths, according to StreetEasy."

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