Don't forget to vote today. New Yorkers will choose the Democratic nominees for mayor, public advocate, district attorney (in Manhattan) and controller. Since there's not much suspense in the mayoral contest (Bill Thompson will almost certainly win), the real excitement tonight will be in the City Council races. One of the most interesting contests is right here in Downtown Manhattan. The battle for the District 1 City Council seat, now held by Alan Gerson, has been intense.
First thing's first. REMEMBER TO VOTE. If you're not sure about your polling site, it's easy to look up on the Board of Elections web site. Polls are open until 9pm.
Gerson, a two-term City Councilmember, is being challenged by Margaret Chin, Pete Gleason, Arthur Gregory and PJ Kim. Chin will be relying on a big turnout from Chinatown, but also strong support on the Lower East Side. Gleason will be counting on voters in Tribeca, Soho and the Financial District, though he also has high hopes of drawing from the LES. Kim is appealing to new voters – 13-thousand newcomers that have arrived in the district in the past three years. Gregory is hoping he'll have a base of support on the West Side, in Tribeca and the Financial District.
There are predictions of low turnout. In 2004, only 7-thousand votes were cast. There are about 60-thousand registered Democrats in District 1.
We'll be in touch with all of the campaigns throughout the day – and have results and reactions from the candidates sometime after 9pm.
