New York, NY (June 23, 2021) - While several contests in New York City’s June 22 Primary remain too close to call, it is clear that several new New York City Council Members will be fierce advocates for immigrant New Yorkers. Tonight, many of NYIC Action’s slate of candidates for the City Council appeared poised to win their races. NYIC Action is the New York Immigration Coalition’s sister 501 (c)4 organization. Additionally, all endorsed candidates committed to NYIC Action’s political agenda, 2021: A Vision for NYC, an inclusive policy plan to ensure that every New Yorker can thrive.
Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director of NYIC Action, issued the following statement:
“This year, New Yorkers went to the polls for the most consequential city elections in a generation. On the ballot was the future of New York and the nature of our recovery from COVID-19 and the economic recession. Tonight’s results make it clear that New York voters are sending leaders to City Hall that understand how essential our immigrant communities were during the pandemic and will be for our recovery. Whether they are incumbents with solid records of advocacy or first-time candidates seeking to represent their neighborhoods, each of these individuals understands the need to give voice to the immigrant New Yorkers ignored for far too long.
For months, NYIC Action tapped into New York’s growing immigrant communities—many of them first-time voters—across the city to get out the vote for leaders who promised to protect and empower immigrant New Yorkers. With a pandemic and an economic recession ravaging New York, we need leaders at every level of city government who will ensure opportunity for all. So as we wait for every vote to be counted, we celebrate the progress we made towards building a more inclusive city!”
During the 2021 New York City Democratic Primary election cycle, NYIC Action reached more than 50,000 unlikely primary voters in the immigrant-heavy boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. NYIC Action targeted unlikely primary voters to tap into an often ignored bloc constituency. Because this election is the first to include ranked-choice voting, it may take the New York Board of Elections several weeks to announce the winners in the top races, including the Mayoral primary.
So far, NYIC Action-endorsed candidates with strong leads include:
The Bronx:
Kevin Riley – District 12
Marjorie Velázquez – District 13
Amanda Farias – District 18
Brooklyn:
Antonio Reynoso – Brooklyn Borough President
Lincoln Restler – District 33
Jennifer Gutierrez – District 34
Crystal Hudson – District 35
Sandy Nurse – District 37
Alexa Aviles – District 38
Shahana Hanif – District 39
Rita Joseph – District 40
Farah Louis – District 45
Manhattan:
Carlina Rivera – District 2
Erik Bottcher – District 3
Shaun Abreu – District 7
Diana Ayala – District 8
Carmen De La Rosa – District 10
Queens:
Donovan Richards – Queens Borough President
Tiffany Caban – District 22
Linda Lee – District 23
Adrienne Adams – District 28
Felicia Singh – District 32
Background
This election cycle, NYIC Action endorsed in the Manhattan and Brooklyn District Attorney, the City Council, and four out of five of the Borough President races. Each round of endorsements was made following a careful review of candidates who pledged to build immigrant power and guarantee civil rights, end state support for detention, deportation, and mass incarceration, ensure economic justice and good jobs, and create quality education for all.
The 2021 platform also includes the Our City Our Vote campaign, which supports legislation to permit lawfully present residents and those with work authorizations to vote in municipal elections, such as races for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president, and city council, as well as referenda and other local contests. The original legislation was introduced by Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez in January 2020 and supported by a super-majority of Council Members.
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