Lower Manhattan Sends Three New Representatives to Albany, and One to Washington
In Tuesday’s primary elections, Lower Manhattan residents effectively sent three new local officials to the Albany legislature. Although the primary technically decided only the nominees of the political parties, the heavily “blue” political landscape of Lower Manhattan usually makes the nod of the Democratic party tantamount to winning the wider contest, and often relegates the actual election (in November) to the status of a fait accompli.
Voters chose Assembly member Grace Lee for the State Senate, where she will take over the seat held since 2017 by Brian Kavanagh, who is retiring. The Assembly seat previously held by Ms. Lee—representing much of the Financial District and the South Street Seaport—has been won by Illapa Sairitupac, a housing organizer based on the Lower East Side. And the Assembly seat held since 1991 by Deborah Glick (also retiring), which represents Tribeca, has been won by Jeannine Kiely, the longtime chair of Manhattan Community Board 2. Ms. Kiely has been prominent on issues such as the years-long struggle to save the Elizabeth Street Garden (in Little Italy) from demolition.
On Tuesday evening, Ms. Lee, who defeated her challenger, former Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou, by a margin of 17,756 votes to 10,595, told a packed crowd at Bar Veloce, “I am incredibly honored to be your Democratic nominee for the 27th State Senate District. Serving our community in the Assembly has been the honor of a lifetime. That is why I ran in this race—to continue the important work we’ve already begun, and to do even more for the people of Lower Manhattan. As your next State Senator, I will fight to make our communities more affordable, protect our immigrant neighbors, and be a true advocate for our diverse district.”
She added, “we demonstrated what a people-powered campaign can do, and I am so proud of the broad coalition of support we built to get here. Thank you for trusting me to represent you in Albany. Now let’s get back to work.”
Ms. Kiely won her State Assembly seat by a much narrower margin, garnering 27 percent of the 15,098 votes cast in a crowded field of six candidates. As of 1am on Tuesday morning, she was leading her closest competitor (New York University Law School professor David Siffert) by a margin of 56 votes.
At a watch party at the White Horse Tavern, Ms. Kiely said, “I am so proud of this campaign and our unwavering commitment to this incredible community. I’m deeply grateful to the broad and dedicated coalition that came together to support me, and to everyone who cast their ballot for me. While we still have ballots to count, we put our heart and soul into this campaign and were able to put forward a vision for more affordable housing, better public schools and safe, thriving communities. I’m forever proud and forever grateful.”
Mr. Sairitupac (who was not available to comment) also won with less than a majority in a field of six candidates, polling 36 percent of the 11,334 votes cast, but he came in farther ahead of his closest competitor, whose total was less than half of Mr. Sairitupac’s.
Mr. Sairitupac appears to have benefitted from the endorsement of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who gave his imprimatur to progressive candidates in multiple races. Nowhere was this effect more apparent than in the upset victory that former City Comptroller Brad Lander pulled off, toppling sitting Congressman Dan Goldman, who has represented Lower Manhattan in Washington since 2023.
Mr. Lander, who tallied 66 percent of the 83,661 votes cast, said at a victory party, “our team of progressive champions is growing tonight.” Pivoting to an issue that was a flashpoint in his campaign against Mr. Goldman, Mr. Lander acknowledged, “Democrats are painfully divided by differences over our relationship to Israel and Palestine,” adding, “Joe Biden’s ‘hug Bibi’ strategy was a catastrophic failure that made us complicit in genocide. Bombs we paid for killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Tanks we sent made over a million people homeless. We cannot keep paying for Netanyahu’s wars with our tax dollars.”
“Israelis will be truly safe only when Palestinians are free,” he continued. “You can criticize Israel and not be anti-Semitic. You can be anti-Zionist and not be anti-Semitic. I will be one of the Jewish members of Congress most willing to stand up for Palestinian human rights, freedoms, and dignity. And I will stand firmly against bigotry aimed at Jews, as well. That’s not two different jobs. That’s the same job.”
Mr. Lander added, “I will be back at 26 Federal Plaza tomorrow morning,” in a reference to the federal office building in Lower Manhattan that houses the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, as well as a controversial detention facility. Mr. Lander was arrested there by federal agents twice last year, as he took part in protests against alleged violations of civil rights and human rights at the facility.