Bottcher, Cabán Leading After Election Night
Early numbers show multiple queer City Council candidates leading their races
BY MATT TRACY
Some LGBTQ candidates appear
to be in strong position, others are
trailing, and several races appear
to be neck-and-neck — but many
of the competitions could remain
in limbo for weeks.
The large slate of LGBTQ candidates
running for offi ce up and
down the ballot in Democratic primary
races stepped to the plate
on June 22 for a pivotal election
night that featured major citywide
competitions as well as local City
Council matchups and judicial
contests. The election marked a
major opportunity for queer political
candidates to maintain or grow
the City Council’s LGBT Caucus at
a time when all four remaining out
LGBTQ city lawmakers are exiting
offi ce in less than a year. One city
lawmaker elected in the last cycle,
Ritchie Torres of the Bronx, left the
City Council when he was elected
to Congress last year.
The ranked-choice voting process
will take time and absentee
ballots still must be counted, leaving
many competitions unsettled
for now — and results will not be
fi nalized until July 12. Below are
the numbers as of press time on
June 23.
In the citywide race for comptroller,
Council Speaker Corey Johnson
is trailing Brooklyn Councilmember
Brad Lander, 31 to 23 percent.
If elected, Johnson would be the
fi rst out LGBTQ person elected to
citywide offi ce in New York City.
Neither of the two out candidates
in races for borough president
— Manhattan State Senator
Brad Hoylman and Queens Councilmember
Jimmy Van Bramer —
are winning their races. Hoylman
trails Manhattan Councilmember
Mark Levine by less than three
points in the race for Manhattan
beep, while Van Bramer is registering
18 percent — far behind
incumbent Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards and former
Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley,
who are virtually tied with 40
percent of the vote.
More than a dozen LGBTQ council
Erik Bottcher at his election night party at The Chelsea Bell at 316 Eighth Avenue.
candidates also squared off in
races across the city. Two candidates
— Erik Bottcher in Manhattan’s
District 3 and Tiffany Cabán
in Queens’ District 22 — jumped out
to signifi cant leads in their races,
and Cabán claimed victory. Cabán,
looking to overcome her narrow
loss to Melinda Katz in the race for
Queens DA, has 49.70 percent of
the vote, followed by Evie Hantzopoulos,
who sits at 25.69 percent. If
she wins, Cabán would be the fi rst
out LGBTQ woman elected to the
City Council from Queens.
Bottcher, Johnson’s former chief
of staff, currently has 47.79 percent
of the vote in his bid to succeed his
old boss, while another LGBTQ
candidate, Phelan Dante Fitzpatrick,
has just over fi ve percent in
the same race. Arthur Schwartz
and Leslie Boghosian Murphy have
grabbed approximately 15 and 14
percent of the vote, respectively.
In one of the city’s most signifi -
cant races, Crystal Hudson — who
would be the fi rst out LGBTQ Black
woman elected to the City Council
— holds a four-point advantage
over her top rival, Michael Hollingsworth,
in Brooklyn’s District 35.
Chi Ossé, a 22-year-old out queer
candidate running in Brooklyn’s
36th District, holds a fi ve-point
edge with 94 percent of scanners
reporting. He has 37 percent, followed
by Henry L. Butler and Tahirah
A. Moore, who both have about
23 percent.
Meanwhile, two LGBTQ candidates
running in Manhattan’s District
5, Chris Sosa and Billy Freeland,
are behind frontrunner Julie
Menin, who has about 34 percent,
and Tricia M. Shimamura, who
DONNA ACETO
POLITICS
sits at approximately 24 percent.
Freeland has 10 percent and Sosa
has six percent.
One district over, out gay Japanese
American candidate Jeffrey
Omura is behind Manhattan
Borough President Gale Brewer,
who is looking to return to the City
Council in District 6. Brewer has
roughly 54 percent, while Omura
has 10 percent.
In Manhattan’s District 9, Kristin
Richardson Jordan — who,
like Hudson, would be the fi rst out
LGBTQ Black woman in the City
Council — is in a tight race with
incumbent Councilmember Bill
Perkins. Jordan has 19.33 percent,
while Perkins has 20.60 percent.
Marti Allen-Cummings, vying to
be the fi rst out non-binary councilmember,
is behind in Manhat-
➤ LGBTQ CANDIDATES, continued on p.8
GayCityNews.com | June 24 - June 30, 2021 5
/GayCityNews.com
