5 Days Til Election Day

From WNYC + Gothamist [Politics Brief from WNYC + Gothamist] [Keep friends and family informed. Forward the Politics Brief.]( Reminder: New York City Votes on Tuesday By [James Ramsay]( The city is holding a special election next Tuesday, February 26, to choose a new public advocate: a position with little power, a relatively small budget, and no vote in the City Council. So, why does anyone want the job? Ask Mayor Bill de Blasio or New York Attorney General Letitia James, who both used the job's public profile to launch themselves into higher office. A total of 17 names will appear on the ballot, including Brooklyn Assemblymember Latrice Walker, who's no longer running but [couldn't get her name removed]( for technical reasons. That leaves 16 candidates, seven of whom participated in Wednesday night's debate, which the Campaign Finance Board dubbed the "leading contenders debate." Let's meet your leading contenders: [debate]( Michael Blake: Bronx Assemblymember running on the "For the People" party line. Rafael Espinal Jr.: Brooklyn City Councilmember, running on the "Liveable City" party line. Ron Kim: Queens Assemblymember, running on the "People Over Corporations" party line. Nomiki Konst: Journalist and activist, running on the "Pay People More" party line. Melissa Mark-Viverito: Former City Council Speaker, running on the "Fix the MTA" party line. Dawn Smalls: Former Obama administration lawyer, running on the "No More Delays" party line. Jumaane Williams: Brooklyn City Councilmember, running on "The People's Voice" party line. How they differ: Not much. Konst claimed that she's the only candidate who seriously opposed Amazon from the start. And Blake said homeless shelters should be distributed equitably around the city, while Smalls argued that shelters should be built in neighborhoods where there's the greatest need. Also, for a city where white men hold most of the top posts, the field in this election is notably diverse. Where they agree: They're all Democrats. And they all think [Mayor de Blasio shouldn't run for president](. [Brigid]( Republican Eric Ulrich, a Queens City Councilmember running on the "Common Sense" party line, did not qualify for last night's debate, which required eligible candidates to have spent a certain amount of campaign money. But Ulrich has earned a last-minute surge in visibility, due largely to the fact that he's the only candidate who [unabashedly supported the Amazon deal](. "I think there’s a chance that regular people who would not normally be inclined to vote in a special election are a little bit angry about what happened and are therefore more likely to vote," one Democratic political consultant [told the New York Times](. "And if they are, there’s only one person who was not against Amazon and that’s Eric Ulrich." The winner of Tuesday's special election will serve at least through the end of the year, at which point the winner of a November general election will begin a new term. Find your polling place [here](. The Queen of Queens Back in 2017, well before Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had upset local party boss Joe Crowley in a Democratic Congressional primary, 77 city politicians signed [a letter]( asking Jeff Bezos to bring Amazon's "HQ2" to New York. Among them was Queens State Senator Michael Gianaris, a longtime friend and ally of Crowley's. Two days after Ocasio-Cortez's victory, Gianaris was [spotted wearing an AOC t-shirt](. Then he became a leading local voice in the fight against Amazon. "This really was the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez effect," Ken Lovett, the Daily News' outgoing Albany bureau chief, told Brian Lehrer this week. "[Gianaris] was always more of a moderate, middle-of-the-road Democrat. He has swung hard to the left...for fear of a potential primary." If Ocasio-Cortez scared Gianaris into tacking left (as Lovett says she has with many local politicians), there's a gamble here: Most New York voters, including 70 percent of African-Americans and 80 percent of Latinos, supported the Amazon deal. What constituency did the anti-Amazon camp just appease? ([The Brian Lehrer Show]( The Queen of Montclair In the run-up to the 2018 midterms, Mikie Sherrill seemed destined to become the fresh new face of the Democratic Party. She'd set [fundraising records](. Harnessed the power of [grassroots women activists](. Taken hold of a New York City-adjacent district that Republicans had been winning for almost three decades. Today, there's one Democratic woman who has 6 million social media followers and the ability to create liberal litmus tests for the party's presidential candidates...and it's not the former Navy helicopter pilot and mother of four from Essex County. But as the latest cover story of Politico Magazine suggests, "The Most Important New Woman in Congress Is Not Who You Think." The main argument: No matter what far-left policy Ocasio-Cortez supports, it's highly unlikely that she'd lose her seat to a Republican. But Sherrill, a Blue Dog Democrat who's willing to make compromises to get bills passed, represents the formula for keeping her party in control of the House. ([Politico]( Update on Weed in New Jersey: Still Not Legal There is a bill (or technically, a package of three bills). Now Gov. Phil Murphy and State Senate President Steve Sweeney just need to convince [seven]( Democratic senators to get off the fence (or change their mind altogether) and sign it. Sen. Ron Rice is one of the strongest holdouts, arguing that the deal as it stands wouldn't benefit poor black communities where drugs and crime have already damaged the prospects for economic development. And he has reason for thinking that—Massachusetts' new legal marijuana law contained an explicit social justice initiative, and still, [WGBH reports]( that next to no black or Latino candidates have applied for business licences. “This is about money, it’s not about social justice," Rice said this week. "Why should we pass something that makes money for investors on the backs of black and brown people?" ([NJTV News]( What'd You Do for Lunch Today? California Senator Kamala Harris, who announced last month that she's running for president, dined with Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia's today. (Bebeto Matthews/AP) Interesting fact: Barack Obama dined with Reverend Al Sharpton at Sylvia's in 2007, as did Bernie Sanders in 2016, yet neither presidential candidate received Sharpton's eventual endorsement. That didn't stop California Senator Kamala Harris from joining Sharpton for [lunch today]( in what's become something of a Democratic campaign ritual. "We talked a lot about voting rights," Sharpton [told reporters]( afterwards. "She’s very concerned about voter suppression." Sylvia's, the Harlem soul-food restaurant that's been in its current location since 1962, has survived decades of crime, blight, feverish development and gentrification, remaining an iconic fixture in the city's black community. The New Yorker Radio Hour visited Sylvia's back in 2015 for this profile of the family that's kept the institution alive. [LISTEN: 'A RESTAURANT BEATS THE ODDS']( Take Action [Stay Informed]( [Listen]( [Read]( Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2019 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: New York Public Radio 160 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 [unsubscribe]( [update preferences]( [privacy policy](