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
COURIER L 6 IFE, NOVEMBER 5-11, 2021
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
serving as Chief of Staff for former
Councilmember Diana Reyna, he defeated
disgraced former Brooklyn
Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez
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 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 Comptroller
elect), Jumaane Williams (who
cruised to reelection as public advocate)
and new Councilmember-elect
Shahana Hanif, who will replace
term-limited Lander.
Reynoso wins!
Williamsburg councilmember to
succeed Adams as Brooklyn Beep
ELECTION 2021
Mon.-Fri. 12 noon to 9:30pm • Sat. 11am-9:30pm • Sun. 11am to 8pm