
COURIER L 6 IFE, NOVEMBER 5-11, 2021
Reynoso wins!
Williamsburg councilmember to
succeed Adams as Brooklyn Beep
ELECTION 2021
Antonio Reynoso declared victory in the race for Brooklyn Borough President in front of a
crowd of family, friends and supporters on election night. Photo by Paul Frangipane
BY BEN VERDE
Democratic Borough President candidate
Antonio Reynoso cruised to victory
during the general election as expected,
raking in more than 73 percent
of the vote as of 11 pm (with 94 percent
of scanners reporting), according to
unoffi cial Board of Elections results.
As of Wednesday, he’d kept that
lead with close to 100 percent of scanners
reporting.
The pol declared victory at an Election
Night party in Gowanus, where he
celebrated his projected win alongside
family, friends and colleagues in government.
“I’m excited, I’m relived, more than
anything I really want to make Brooklyn
proud and get to a better normal
past COVID,” he told Brooklyn Paper.
The term-limited councilmember
from Williamsburg ran on a platform
of progressive credentials, touting endorsements
from the Working Families
Party and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders,
propelling him to a nine percent
margin of victory in the crowded June
primary. On Nov. 2, he trounced Republican
candidate Menachem Reitport.
The borough’s next commanderin
chief — who will be responsible for
weighing in on land use decisions, introducing
legislation, appointing community
board members and acting as
an advocate and cheerleader for the
borough — focused much of his primary
campaign on addressing the inequities
laid bare by the pandemic.
In an interview with Brooklyn Paper
following his primary victory,
Reynoso discussed applying that same
philosophy to the actual duties of the
borough president in areas like development,
street safety, and community
boards.
Reynoso has a history as a reformminded
candidate in Brooklyn, after
“Our campaign was
always about building a
Brooklyn for all of us,”
serving as Chief of Staff for former
Councilmember Diana Reyna, he defeated
disgraced former Brooklyn
Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez
by 12 percent in a primary election
— which the young then-candidate referred
to as a “blow to the political machine.”
Leading up to Nov. 2, the 38-year
old beep-to-be vowed to represent all
of Brooklyn — and all of its inhabitants
— equally. “Our campaign was always
about building a Brooklyn for all
of us,” he said after winning the June
primary election, “no matter your
race, your background, or what zip
code you live in.”
Tuesday night, Reynoso told Brooklyn
Paper that he will focus heavily on
maternal health.
“We want to make Brooklyn the safest
place for women to have babies in
all of the city, and that includes white,
Black, Latina, any type of women,” he
said. “We just want to make sure we’re
putting them at the forefront. Brooklyn
shouldn’t be the most dangerous
place for women to have babies.”
Reynoso will succeed current
Brooklyn Borough President (and now
mayor-elect) Eric Adams.
He celebrated alongside fellow progressive
winners like Councilmember
Brad Lander (the new Comptrollerelect),
Jumaane Williams (who cruised
to reelection as public advocate) and
new Councilmember-elect Shahana
Hanif, who will replace term-limited
Lander.