Our Updated Guide To The Mayoral Candidates

a lot has changed in five months! [View this email in your browser]( [Keep friends and family informed. Forward the Politics Brief.]( Here's What You Need To Know About The Mayoral Contenders By James Ramsay [The exterior of New York City Hall] Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock In the five months since Gothamist published its initial guide to the 2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary, a lot has changed. Scott Stringer was accused of sexual assault by [two different women](. Dianne Morales' campaign [nearly imploded]( over allegations of discrimination and abuse. Shaun Donovan and Ray McGuire each spent [millions of dollars]( on ads, but failed to rise in the polls. And the city's spike in shootings pushed the issues of crime, policing, and public safety [to the tops of voters' lists of concerns]( — ahead of the economic recovery (and the pandemic that's killed over 52,000 city residents). Slowly but surely, voters have started to make up their minds — the latest [Spectrum NY1/Ipsos poll]( which came out yesterday, found that only 16% of voters [remain undecided](. Still, that's a decent chunk of the electorate — the second place candidate, Andrew Yang, was the first choice for 16% of voters. (Eric Adams led the poll with 22%.) Whether you're still mulling over which candidate is your top choice — or scrambling to figure out who to rank from 2nd to 5th, given all that's changed — our freshly updated guide has everything you need to know to make up your mind, including quick personal facts about each candidate, the latest news stories about their campaigns, and all the contenders' recent interviews on The Brian Lehrer Show. Dig through it. Refresh your memory on how to fill out a ranked-choice ballot. And [vote]( — the Early Voting window runs from June 12th to June 20th, and Primary Day is June 22nd. [VISIT THE UPDATED VOTER GUIDE]( Gothamist Guides To The 2021 Election [a graphic of city hall that says "Guide To New York City's 2021 Mayoral Race"] The Complete Guide For Undecided Voters Who's running for mayor. Where their money is coming from. How ranked-choice voting works. Key dates to know. [It's all here](. [wind turbines in the choppy sea] How Will The Next Mayor Tackle Clean Energy And Climate Change? Here's [a breakdown]( of each candidate's approach to environmental issues. [prospect park, full of people] How Will NYC's Next Mayor Invest In City Parks? [Here's]( what the candidates have said on funding and disparities when it comes to public parks. [an "Abolish the Police" sign hangs over a subway entrance] "Defund" The NYPD: What It Means And Where Democratic Mayoral Candidates Stand On It Your [guide]( to the candidates' positions on policing. Here's What Else Is Happening Here's an incredibly helpful district-by-district guide to the City Council primary races. With this year's massive term limit-induced turnover, more than 40 of New York City's 51 Council districts are seeing competitive races, and given the overwhelming Democratic majority among city voters, most of these races will effectively be decided by the June 22nd primary. Gotham Gazette has been compiling the latest news stories about these races — reported by a variety of local outlets — on one handy page. ([Gotham Gazette]( Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is backing Maya Wiley for mayor. The New York congresswoman indicated that she might also name the other candidates she plans to list on her ranked-choice ballot. Ocasio-Cortez's surprise endorsement came after other prominent progressives, who had been backing Scott Stringer or Dianne Morales, threw their weight behind Wiley. ([Gothamist]( Kathryn Garcia is attempting to run on her record of public service in the de Blasio administration without actually linking herself to de Blasio. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal on Monday both published generous profiles of Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner who led the city's impressive, if imperfect, food outreach program during the height of the pandemic. Among the challenges for Garcia's mayoral bid: her comparative lack of charisma, and her association with the current mayor, whom some voters view unfavorably. ([Times]( Two leading figures in the "ban horse carriages" movement are going after Andrew Yang. The founders of NYCLASS, the animal rights group that targeted Christine Quinn in 2013 over the horse carriage issue and more recently got fined by elections officials for making illegal campaign contributions, have launched a super PAC that'll spend up to $1 million on anti-Yang TV ads. This, despite only two candidates (Maya Wiley and Dianne Morales) actually saying they support banning horse-drawn carriages in the city. ([The New York Times]( Today is Primary Day in New Jersey, where two Trump loyalists are challenging an establishment favorite for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. The Republican nominee will have a legitimate shot against Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy in November — a recent poll found that only 48% of New Jersey voters think he deserves a second term. But the general election could have a strikingly different energy depending on who wins today's primary, which is pitting a cut-the-property-taxes candidate against two people who believe Donald Trump won the 2020 election. ([Gothamist]( Meanwhile, the Democratic mayors of Rochester, Buffalo, and Albany are all facing primary challenges from the left. In all three cities, the comparatively moderate incumbents are being attacked for doing too little to fight inequality or curb police brutality. All three cities are also heavily Democratic, meaning the June 22nd primaries will likely decide the next mayor. ([City & State]( [BL pod] Liz Hotlzman's Take On The 2021 City Elections The former congresswoman, city comptroller, and Brooklyn DA shares her thoughts on this month's primary election. 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 © 2021 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](