City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s campaign to become the next mayor gained serious traction last night, April 13, after the left-leaning Working Families Party (WFP) made him their first choice of support in the June 22 Democratic Party mayoral primary.
With the rankled-choice voting (RCV) system now in play as part of election strategies, the WFP also endorsed mayoral candidates Dianne Morales as their second choice and Maya Wiley as their third choice.
Under RCV, voters rank the candidates by preference on their ballots. If no candidate wins at least 50 percent of the tallied first-round vote, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and their second choice votes is then distributed among the remaining candidates. This continues until there are two candidates remaining and the candidate with the highest vote count wins.
“We are confident Scott Stringer has both the coalition to win and can lead New York out of this public health and economic crisis, centering the needs of Black, brown, and immigrant New Yorkers, and ensuring our communities do not just survive but thrive in the years to come,” said New York Working Families Party State Director Sochie Nnaemeka.
“Given the likelihood of an instant runoff in the Mayor’s race, it is essential New Yorkers vote for these three leaders as their first, second and third choices to ensure a progressive wins and avoid a corporate-backed candidate from seizing power in City Hall,” Nnaemeka added.
Stringer, a former assembly member and Manhattan Borough President before being elected as the city’s comptroller, called the WFP the heart of the city’s progressive movement and he was honored to receive their endorsement.
“We have worked side by side for decades to speak truth to power and deliver justice to all New Yorkers. Now, we’re marching together to fight for a progressive vision that upends the status quo and lifts up working people, communities of color, and immigrant New Yorkers who are the backbone of our city — and who will be at the forefront of a truly progressive recovery from COVID-19,” said Stringer.
“In this election, New Yorkers have a very clear choice among the leading candidates. We need to elect a progressive mayor who will be ready to deliver on day one to make our city more affordable, more sustainable, and most importantly: more just. I will be that mayor. At the same time, ranked-choice voting is a groundbreaking reform that will breathe new life into democracy, and I’m glad to see the WFP putting this new system front and center by ranking Dianne Morales second and Maya Wiley third, so we can ensure New York gets a progressive mayor,” he added.
The WFP, with its large membership and voter turnout operation, is a major boost for Stringer, who in past elections has been a strong finisher. He currently lags behind in recent polls to frontrunners Andrew Yang and Eric Adams. However, these same polls note that about 50 percent of Democratic primary voters remain undecided and that a clear frontrunner has yet to emerge.
Also endorsing Stringer are a number of far-left progressive lawmakers including freshman U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-Westchester). State Senators Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx/Westchester), Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn) and Jabari Brisport (D-Brooklyn); and Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou (D-Manhattan) and Amanda Septimo (D-Bronx).
