COURIER L 18 IFE, SEPTEMBER 3-9, 2021
Donald Cranston
announces GOP bid
for southern Bklyn
Council seat
BY BEN BRACHFELD
Donald Cranston, who
ran unsuccessfully to be
the Democratic nominee
for southern Brooklyn
this year, has switched
parties to run in the general
election on the Republican
and Conservative
Party lines, he
announced Wednesday.
“As many of you know,
I recently ran a strong
campaign as a moderate
in the 46th Council
District in the Democrat
primary, but despite my
falling short, my passion
to represent this community
has not ended,”
Cranston, a longtime fi xture
in city and state government,
said in an Aug.
25 Facebook post. “That
is why I am continuing
my campaign on the Republican
and Conservative
lines because so
much is at stake in this
election.”
In his post, Cranston
identifi ed “public safety,
clean streets, and good
schools” as top priorities
in the Council seat,
which includes southeastern
Brooklyn neighborhoods
like Canarsie,
Marine Park, Flatlands,
Bergen Beach, Gerritsen
Beach, Mill Basin, and
part of Sheepshead Bay
“These beliefs are
not partisan,” he said.
“They are universal. As
the great fusion candidate,
Mayor Fiorello La-
Guardia, said, ‘There is
no Democratic or Republican
way to clean the
streets.'”
Cranston ran in the
crowded Democratic
primary this year to replace
incumbent Councilmember
Alan Maisel
in the district, but came
in fourth place with 12.9
percent of fi rst choice ballots,
and was eliminated
after the fi fth round of
ranked-choice voting.
Mercedes Narcisse
won the primary, and is
heavily favored to win
in the solidly Democratic
district.
Donald Cranston.
Courtesy of campaign
“I fi rmly believe that
the voters of the 46th
Council District want
a council member who
they can trust. The voters
know what they will
get with Mercedes Narcisse,
a hard worker with
a desire and passion to
serve all the people of the
district,” Narcisse said
in a statement to Brooklyn
Paper. “As such, I remain
confi dent that the
voters in November won’t
be blinded by political
gamesmanship, and will
once again choose the
most qualifi ed and best
candidate in the race.
As the next City Council
Member from the 46th I
look forward to working
with Mr. Cranston and
anyone else who shares
my goal of making our
district a great place to
work, live and enjoy.”
Cranston did not respond
to a request for
comment, nor did reps for
the Brooklyn GOP and
Conservative Party.
No Republican or Conservative
primary was
held. In 2013, the last time
the 46th District seat was
open, Democrat Maisel
trounced his Republican
opponent Anthony Testaverde
73 to 18 percent.
While much of the district
was won by Donald
Trump in the 2020 election,
including Marine
Park, Gerritsen Beach,
Bergen Beach, and Mill
Basin, the slim Republican
margins in those areas
was outweighed by
the signifi cant advantage
Joe Biden had in solid
blue Canarsie.
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