It's Eric Adams Vs. Curtis Sliwa

Garcia: "We have not cracked that glass ceiling" [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] It's Eric Adams Vs. Curtis Sliwa [By Brigid Bergin, Gwynne Hogan, and David Cruz]( Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams clinched the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor Tuesday night, maintaining a narrow lead over former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia in the latest ranked-choice voting tabulations, all but assuring his path to becoming the city's next mayor. There was some suspense leading up to yesterday's vote tally, since it included around 130,000 absentee ballots — many of which came from [parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn where Garcia performed well]( among in-person voters. But the new results still showed Adams ahead of Garcia by 8,426 votes, a margin of 1%. In a statement sent shortly after the results went live last night, Adams, who would be the city's second Black mayor, said that while there are still a handful of ballots yet to count, the results were clear. "An historic, diverse, five-borough coalition led by working-class New Yorkers has led us to victory in the Democratic primary for Mayor of New York City," he said. "Now we must focus on winning in November so that we can deliver on the promise of this great city for those who are struggling, who are underserved, and who are committed to a safe, fair, affordable future for all New Yorkers." After [a brief period of hesitation]( from his rivals last night — Garcia's campaign said it was seeking "additional clarity," while third-place finisher Maya Wiley hinted at "next steps" while criticizing the Board of Elections for its rocky process of counting the ranked-choice ballots — Garcia eventually [conceded to Adams this morning](. "For 400 years, no woman has held the top seat at City Hall," Garcia said Wednesday in front of the Women’s Rights Pioneer Monument in Central Park. "This campaign has come closer than any other in history at breaking that glass ceiling and electing New York City’s first female mayor. We cracked the hell out of it and it’s ready to be broken, but we have not cracked that glass ceiling." Wiley also conceded on Wednesday, telling supporters that given the upcoming changes in the City Council's makeup — [women will outnumber men]( for the first time in city history — she thought women "did break the glass ceiling." Adams will now face off against Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, in the general election this fall. While any Democratic nominee would be expected to win — Democratic voters outnumber Republicans 7 to 1 in New York City — Adams, who was widely considered the most tough-on-crime Democrat in the primary, will likely be an even tougher opponent for Sliwa, whose primary talking point has been the need to crack down on crime. Still, Sliwa was out campaigning this morning, standing in front of Madison Square Garden and calling for property tax increases for the currently-tax-free arena as a way to hire more police officers. "It is a long-shot bid, but it certainly will not be boring," said WNYC's Brigid Bergin on [The Brian Lehrer Show]( today. "It will be a very colorful campaign between the two of them." In other Democratic primary races, progressive comptroller candidate Brad Lander solidified a win over Corey Johnson, and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams cemented his position for another four years. In the Democratic borough president primaries, apparent winners include Vanessa Gibson in the Bronx, Mark Levine in Manhattan, Antonio Reynoso in Brooklyn, and Mark Murphy on Staten Island. (Disgraced former Congressman [Vito Fossella won the Republican primary]( in Staten Island, which has elected Republican borough presidents for the past several decades.) In Queens, sitting Borough President Donovan J. Richards Jr. was ahead of his challenger, Elizabeth Crowley, by a margin of just over 1,000 votes after the latest count, leaving the race still too close to call. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- Here's What Else Is Happening Alvin Bragg has won the Democratic primary for Manhattan district attorney. Bragg, who ran as a pragmatic centrist and would be the borough's first Black district attorney, got one step closer to securing the job last Friday after the second-place candidate, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, conceded. With Manhattan being overwhelmingly Democratic, Bragg is likely to win the November general election. ([Gothamist]( A Board of Elections staffer in Queens has resigned following last week's erroneous vote count that included 135,000 test ballots. Gladys Fernandez, an analyst focused on electronic voting systems, stepped down after her borough office let the dummy ballots slip into a preliminary ranked-choice vote tally in the Democratic mayoral primary. Fernandez, who made $105,000 last year, had been employed at the BOE since 2008. ([Politico]( A state assemblymember is holding a public hearing later this month for voters to share their experiences with ranked-choice voting. Brooklyn Assemblymember Latrice Walker, who chairs the Election Law Committee, said that while she's not against ranked-choice voting, she's concerned that election officials offered insufficient voter education and that the rollout was rushed. She'll be convening a public hearing on July 19th at 250 Broadway in Manhattan. ([Gothamist]( A majority of New York Democrats don't think Andrew Cuomo should run for governor again. A Siena poll conducted during the last week of June found that 43% of Democratic voters — and only about a third of New Yorkers generally — think Cuomo should run for re-election. Cuomo, who said at a fundraiser last week that he wants to serve another term, would be New York's first four-term governor since Nelson Rockefeller. ([The Wall Street Journal]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [How India Walton Won Buffalo's Mayoral Primary]( India Walton, a democratic socialist, talks about her Democratic primary win over a longtime incumbent. [LISTEN FOR FREE]( 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]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [WNYC]( [WQXR]( [NJPR]( [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 All rights reserved. [Terms of Use.]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your [preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( from this list