
‘WE MADE HISTORY’
Group of upstart progressives take down longtime incumbent pols
BY ROSE ADAMS &
KEVIN DUGGAN
A cadre of upstart progressive
political candidates have
defeated established incumbents
in a number of Brooklyn’s
hotly contested primary
elections.
Democratic socialist Marcela
Mitaynes won the primary
for District 51’s state
Assembly seat on July 16 over
26-year incumbent Félix Ortiz
— making her the presumptive
assemblywoman elect of
Sunset Park’s majority-Democratic
district.
Insurgent Greenpoint Assembly
candidate Emily Gallagher
offi cially won her election
against 23-term incumbent
Joe Lentol — defeating the staple
of Brooklyn politics, who
had served in the state’s lower
chamber since Richard Nixons
was president.
“Joe is beloved by many and
I’m excited to see all the good
work he will do as a community
COURIER L 10 IFE, JULY 24-30, 2020
member,” Gallagher said
of her vanquished opponent,
who had only faced a handful
of primary challengers before.
“I have deep respect for him
and those who love him, and I
look forward to being his successor.”
Another candidate, Democratic
socialist Phara Souffrant
Forrest, a registered
nurse and a tenant organizer,
beat incumbent Walter Mosley
in Fort Greene’s 57th Assembly
District, upending the pol
who was fi rst elected in 2012 to
replace Hakeem Jeffries after
his election to the U.S. House
of Representatives.
“It was a long wait, but today
we can fi nally say that
we did it,” Souffrant Forrest
said in a statement on July 22.
“Together we made history by
electing a socialist nurse in
the middle of the worst pandemic
in 100 years.”
Nearly all candidates who
win their respective Democratic
primary elections in
Brooklyn are expected to sail
to victory in barley-contested
general elections against Republican
opponents in November,
and assume offi ce in January
2021.
The string of upstart victories
delivers a blow to the Kings
County Democratic Party establishment,
and their newlyelected
leader Rodneyse Bichotte
— who herself represents
Flatbush in the Assembly.
On the other hand, the upset
victories elevate the stature
of Brooklyn’s various progressive
organizations, such
as the New Kings Democrats,
who have been working to
push the county’s party apparatus
toward the liberal end of
the political spectrum.
Mitaynes, Gallagher, and
Forrest also leaned heavily
on various outspoken progressive
voices for support — such
as 2018 candidate for governor,
Cynthia Nixon, as well as
2018’s candidate for Attorney
General Zephyr Teachout.
“This was a collective and
truly grassroots campaign,
powered by a deep love for
North Brooklyn and a desire
to make it better,” said Gallagher.
“Thank you so much
for believing in me, against all
the odds.”
Marcela Mitaynes Emma Gallagher Phara Souffrant Forrest