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COURIER LIFE, APRIL 15-21, 2022
BY BEN BRACHFELD
Gov. Kathy Hochul has
called a special election
for May 24 in the 58th Assembly
District, covering
parts of East Flatbush,
Brownsville, and Canarsie,
after the seat was vacated
by longtime rep Nick
Perry.
Perry’s exit was a long
time coming: he was nominated
by President Joe
Biden last year to serve
as the American ambassador
to his native Jamaica.
Perry was confirmed by
the United States Senate
in March and vacated
his seat last month, after
nearly 30 years in Albany.
The governor, fresh
off of passing a $220 billion
state budget, praised
Perry for his “illustrious”
career in the Legislature,
which he entered in 1993,
and wished him well.
“Ambassador Nick
Perry has led an illustrious
career, and wish hs
distinguished appointment
he continues his trajectory
forward. We wish
him all the best in his new
role as US Ambassador to
Jamaica,” Hochul said in
a statement. “New Yorkers
deserve to be represented
in the fullest capacity, and
an election to fill the Ambassador’s
seat is necessary
to ensure their voices
are heard. I look forward
to working with the next
elected leader and encourage
the people living in the
58th District to get out and
vote.”
The special election,
the third for an Assembly
seat in Brooklyn this
year, will take place about
a month before the June
Democratic primary.
Whoever wins on May 24
will serve until the end
of the year; the winner
of the June 28 primary
(which may or may not be
the same person) will contest
the November general
election and be sworn in
for a full two-year term on
Jan. 1, 2023.
City & State notes that
Perry’s resignation on
March 30 was timed conveniently
to allow for a
special election just ahead
of the primary; had he resigned
just two days later,
on or after April 1, it’d be
too late to trigger a special
election and the seat
would be left empty ahead
of the primary.
The Democratic nominee
for the special election
will be chosen by a vote of
the district’s County Committee
members, and is almost
certain to win given
the overwhelming partisan
advantage Democrats
enjoy in central and eastern
Brooklyn. A spokesperson
for the Brooklyn
Democratic Party did not
respond to an inquiry by
press time regarding the
date of the County Committee
vote.
Because Perry’s exit
had been inevitable for
months, a number of candidates
have already
thrown their hat in the
ring to replace him. Perry,
who was given a rousing
send-off by area pols earlier
this month in recognition
of his decades of
service, is supporting Monique
Chandler-Waterman,
a local activist who
runs the nonprofit East
Flatbush Village with her
husband Eric Waterman.
Chandler-Waterman,
who previously ran for
City Council in 2019, also
has the support of Public
Advocate Jumaane Williams,
Councilmember
Mercedes Narcisse, Assemblymember
Former Assemblymember Nick Perry was named American Ambassador
to his native Jamaica earlier this year. A special election
to fill his vacant Brooklyn seat has been called for May 24.
File photo by Nelson A. King
Jaime Williams,
and the Working
Families Party.
Also in the running are
Hercules Reid, an aide to
Mayor Eric Adams who
also ran in the 2019 special
election for City Council,
and local charter school administrator
Otis Danne Jr.
Race is on in Flatbush
Special election called for Nick Perry’s vacated Assembly seat