Primary Day Open Thread

Who will be doing the people's business at City Hall in 2021? Photo: Momos/Wikimedia Commons
Who will be doing the people's business at City Hall in 2021? Photo: Momos/Wikimedia Commons

Primary day is here.

With contested races for many City Council seats, and Democrats dominant in most districts, today voters will decide who will set city transportation policy for the next four years.

There are other races to watch. Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez is up against several challengers in the first election since the death of his boss Ken Thompson. Four candidates, with Sal Albanese getting the most press, want to unseat Mayor Bill de Blasio. (See Gotham Gazette for a complete list of candidates citywide.)

Despite their importance, primaries usually don’t draw a lot of people to the polls, and races can be decided by small margins. This is the rare election in New York where your vote counts for something.

Check our 2017 primaries archive for coverage of this election season, candidate Q&As, and to see how StreetsPAC weighed in on City Council contests.

Thoughts on today’s races? Long lines — or no lines — at your polling site? Let us know in the comments.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

The Polls Are Open in New York City

By Ben Fried |
It’s primary day, and when it comes to local elections in New York, that means the next few hours bear more significance than what happens in November. Gotham Gazette has the most comprehensive guide to all the contested primaries in the city. From a livable streets perspective, the three Manhattan races stand out. In the […]

City Council Primaries: Where Your Vote Counts the Most

By Ben Fried |
If you’re a registered Democrat in New York City, tomorrow is one of those rare occasions: an election where your vote carries a lot of weight. This is especially true in the City Council primaries, where winning candidates typically need just a few thousand votes to represent districts of more than 150,000 people. The margins […]

Big Winners on Primary Day: de Blasio and StreetsPAC

By Ben Fried |
Yesterday, New York City Democrats chose the candidate who’s campaigned as the anti-Bloomberg. But on issues of traffic safety and surface transit, Bill de Blasio, despite some wavering, has pledged to build on the current administration’s progress while tackling the unfinished business of reforming the NYPD’s approach to traffic violence. And with several City Council […]

Tuesday: City Council Candidates for District 39 Debate Livable Streets

By Ben Fried |
In Democrat-dominated New York City, much of the electoral action happens on primary day. This year’s primaries are fast approaching: Voters go to the polls on September 15, four weeks from tomorrow. Contests for City Council seats, the Manhattan District Attorney’s job, borough presidencies, Public Advocate, and City Comptroller will by and large be decided […]

StreetsPAC Endorses Candidates in State Senate and Assembly Primaries

By Brad Aaron |
Tuesday September 13 is primary day, and today StreetsPAC released its endorsements for New York State Senate and Assembly races. In heavily Democratic NYC, the primary winners will almost certainly go on to win the general election in November, if they face a challenger at all. “For most state legislative races, incumbents are virtually guaranteed re-election, so […]