Elisa Crespo Says She Will Not Run in June Primary
Bronx-based candidate would have been New York’s fi rst out transgender lawmaker
BY MATT TRACY
Elisa Crespo, an out
transgender City Council
candidate who ran in
the March special election
race in the Bronx’s District 15,
said she will not be running for the
Democratic primary in June.
Crespo is currently in fourth in
a crowded fi eld following the fi rst
round of ranked-choice voting in a
district that includes Bedford Park,
Fordham, Mount Hope, Bathgate,
Belmont, East Tremont, West
Farms, Van Nest, and Olinville.
Tenant lawyer Oswald Felix led
the way as of election night when
he carried 28.36 percent of the
vote, followed by Ischia J. Bravo,
who had 21.51 percent, John E.
Sanchez, who received 20.20 percent,
and Crespo, who pulled in
15.30 percent of the vote. Six additional
candidates followed behind.
Ranked-choice voting rules stipulate
that if no candidate receives
50 percent of the vote in the initial
round, the bottom-ranked candidate
is wiped out in every subsequent
round until two candidates
are remaining, at which point the
candidate with the most votes wins.
Whoever wins the special election
race will be required to run
for re-election later this year, fi rst
➤ PYRAMID CLUB, from p.4
marks Preservation Commission
declined the proposal, in 2012, the
Pyramid Club garnered landmark
status as part of the East Village/
Lower East Side Historic District.
“We fought very hard to get
them to extend those boundaries
to include that building specifi -
cally because of the club’s history
and cultural signifi cance,” Berman
recalled, noting that the city’s
original plans excluded the venue.
“This was also a great watershed
moment in recognizing the importance
that the LGBT community
has played to New York and American
history, especially to the role
Elisa Crespo during the campaign in the Bronx’s District 15.
in the June Democratic primary
and then in the general election
in November. While the results of
the special election have yet to be
fi nalized, Crespo, who sought to
become the fi rst out transgender
lawmaker in New York, signaled
her intentions to move on from the
competition in a two-minute video
looking back on her campaign.
“I’ve given much thought to our
work and I’ve decided not to run for
the Democratic primary in June,”
Crespo said in the video, which was
posted on social media April 6. “I wish
my colleagues well in this next cycle.”
The winner of the race will replace
of drag performers and transgender
people to the cultural lifeblood
of our city.”
Berman, a former partygoer at
the club, said the venue had left a
lasting mark on LGBTQ nightlife.
“It was the perfect combination
of a place that was just a total
blast,” Berman told Gay City News.
“It was where conceptions about
gender and sexuality and who’s the
audience and who’s the performer
were radically challenged.”
He added, “Even though the Pyramid
Club was not the Pyramid Club
of 40 years ago, having that last connection
severed is a sad occasion.”
While the Pyramid Club will
not return to the East Village, the
TWITTER/ELISACRESPONYC
Ritchie Torres — the fi rst out
LGBTQ elected offi cial in the Bronx
— following his historic rise to the
House of Representatives, where
he is the fi rst out gay Afro-Latinx
person in Congress.
While Torres has discussed the
homophobia he faced on the campaign
trail for City Council, Crespo
faced multiple disparaging attacks of
her own during her bid for city offi ce.
In late November, the New York Post
sensationalized Crespo’s past experience
engaging in sex work in a piece
that sparked outrage in the city’s
LGBTQ community. On election day
last month, Crespo posted photos on
venue’s managers told EV Grieve, a
blog that fi rst reported the closure,
that they have found a new home
for DJ TM.8’s events and will announce
the details in the coming
weeks.
POLITICS
social media showing fl yers attacking
her again with disparaging language,
underscoring the adversity
she faced during the campaign.
Still, Crespo refl ected on the
campaign with a sense of positivity
and hope for the future.
“Over the last year it has been a
privilege to explore every bit of our
great community as I campaigned
to represent District 15 in the New
York City council,” Crespo said during
her video. “It’s been an honor to
connect with so many and share
the joy we share as Bronxites.”
She added, “Together, we have
made our politics a little more empathetic
and we made history while
doing it. I am looking forward to continuing
to organize our community,
working to expand the electorate,
and serving our neighbors in need
as a community organizer. I’m also
looking forward to building political
power among the LGBTQ community
and our allies in the Bronx.”
On the day after the election,
Crespo acknowledged the historic
nature of her candidacy in a city
that has yet to elect an out transgender
lawmaker.
“I hope that someone out there
sees themselves refl ected in this
campaign and understands that
their story and struggles matter,”
Crespo said.
“We will continue to take you
back to the 80s!” the club’s managers
wrote. “The Pyramid Spirit
Lives On!! We’ve done all we can.
It’s time to turn the page and carry
on.”
GayCityNews.com | APRIL 8 - APRIL 21, 2021 23
/GayCityNews.com
