Nikki Lucas wins ENY special election
BY BEN BRACHFELD
Nikki Lucas handily won
the special election for East
New York’s 60th Assembly
District seat Tuesday night,
defeating Working Families
nominee Keron Alleyne by a
substantial margin and delivering
a signifi cant, longsought
victory to the Brooklyn
Democratic Party in the borough’s
easternmost stretch.
Unoffi cial tallies from the
city Board of Elections show
Lucas, the Democratic nominee,
capturing 78.32 percent of
the vote to Alleyne’s 19.6 percent.
Republican and Conservative
nominee Marvin King
trailed at 2 percent.
“Our community has spoken
loud and clear, and I am
so humbled to now be elected
Democratic representative
from East New York, Starrett
City, Brownsville, and Canarsie,”
Lucas said in a victory
statement. “Tonight is the result
of what happens when we
center real change, build coalitions,
and demand a just future
that includes truly affordable
housing, quality public
schools, and accessible health
care for all. I thank everyone
who believed in me, especially
my family, clergy, NYCHA and
tenant leaders, laborers and
working-class New Yorkers,
my political club and staff. It is
my honor to continue to serve
the people of this district, here
and in Albany.”
Lucas, a community activist
and former district leader
who previously ran for City
Council, was heavily favored
to prevail in the special election
after winning the Democratic
nomination in a vote of
the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s
County Committee, given
the overwhelming voter registration
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advantage Democrats
hold in the area. She solidifi ed
her advantage further by winning
a number of key endorsements
in the home stretch,
including from Mayor Eric
Adams and state Attorney
General Letitia James.
But the victory was nonetheless
signifi cant for the
county party as a triumph over
Charles and Inez Barron, the
iconoclastic Black socialists
who have dominated area politics
for two decades, and have
frequently been at odds with
the Democratic machine and
its leadership over the years.
In a statement, county
Democratic chair Rodneyse
Bichotte Hermelyn called
Lucas’ win a victory for the
Democratic Party and for the
state writ large. “Nikki Lucas
led Democrats to an astounding
victory tonight, and we are
proud to welcome her to the
Assembly, where I know she
will continue to fi ercely advocate
for the people of East New
York,” Bichotte Hermelyn said.
The special election was
triggered by Charles Barron’s
election to his old Council
seat last year; Inez Barron
was widely expected to again
swap seats with her husband
and seek her old Assembly
seat, but instead chose to retire.
The power couple threw
their weight behind Alleyne,
a former staffer in Charles’
Assembly offi ce, who won the
WFP nod after losing the Democratic
nomination. Alleyne
also had the support of Public
Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Lucas, who previously
lost last year’s City Council
race to Charles Barron, has
been a longtime critic of the
couple, arguing that their
high-minded, Black socialist
politics and combative relationship
with the political establishment
had accomplished
little for East New York, which
remains one of the city’s poorest
and most resource-deprived
neighborhoods.
Winning the special election
means Lucas will serve in
the seat at least until the end
of the year, but she will still
have to run in the June Democratic
primary and November
general election.
Alleyne, in a statement,
said that he still intends to
contest the June Democratic
primary against Lucas, which
he had previously alluded to
owing to the uphill battle in
winning the seat on the WFP
line alone.
“Radical change isn’t
brought about nor defi ned by
one special election – and we
knew that from the day we
launched,” Alleyne said. “As
we move toward the primary,
we are truly grateful for the
support earned over these last
few months. And are honored
to continue to build on the bold
leadership set over the last couple
decades. My commitment
to uproot unjust systems causing
harm to our children, families,
and community at-large remains
strong as ever. Onward.”
In typical special election
fashion, turnout was extremely
low: with nearly 99
percent of precincts reporting
as of Wednesday morning,
only 2,648 residents of the
60th showed up to vote, per the
BOE. The district has a voting
age population of nearly
100,000 people according to
the CUNY Graduate Center’s
Redistricting and You project,
translating to a turnout of
about 2.7 percent.
Nikki Lucas. Courtesy of campaign
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