It ain’t over until it’s over.
Two of the top finishers behind City Councilwoman-elect Farah Louis victory in Tuesday’s special election for the vacant 45th District City Council seat have vowed to mount strong campaigns and achieve different results next month in the June 25 Democratic primary.
Monique Chandler-Waterman, who finished second place in the eight-person race with a respectable 30.21% or 2,790 votes to Louis’ 48.81% or 3,861 votes sent out a flier to supporters vowing to fight hard in the June 25 primary.
Also vowing to press hard in the upcoming primary is Xamayla Rose, who finished in fifth place in the special election with 5.77 percent or 533 votes cast for her.
Two of the other candidates, Jovia Radix, who finished third and L. Rickie Tulloch, who finished fourth in the special election said they are weighing their options on how to proceed in the primary.
All eight candidates in the special election are registered Democrats and automatically made the ballot for the primary, having made the special election ballot.
A Louis-Waterman rematch could also feature the proxy battle rematch between Assemblymember Rodnyse Bichotte, who backed Louis, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who backed Chandler-Waterman.
The two have had a contentious relationship over the hard-fought race, and have not spoken since Louis won, according to Bichotte.
Bichotte, speaking on today’s KCP weekly podcast, Un-Correct New York, also said she is not seeking to run against U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke next year and will support her for re-election. Clarke, whose Congressional district encompasses the 45th City Council District, did not support a candidate in the special election.
Besides Williams, a number of other elected officials supported Chandler-Waterman in the special election, including Assemblyman Nick Perry, who chaired her campaign, State Senators Kevin Parker and Zellnor Myrie; and City Council Members Laurie Cumbo and Brad Lander.
Reliable sources say that Parker will support Louis in the primary. The other electeds, including Williams, could not be reached at post time.
While Louis won the special election in a very convincing manner with nearly 42 percent or 3,861 of the votes cast, and has to be considered a strong favorite in the primary, it would not be unprecedented in city politics if she were to be upset in the primary.
In 2016, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou (D-Manhattan) lost the special election and came back to win the primary against Alice Cancel, who won the special election months earlier to replace former Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver, who gave up the seat after being convicted on felony corruption charges.
The 45th City Council district includes Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, Midwood and Canarsie.
