It’s going to be an interesting few weeks on the New York City Council. Downtown, the wait continues for Alan Gerson to decide whether he’ll contest Margaret Chin’s victory in Tuesday’s Primary. Saying he wanted to “examine questions about the votes reported,” Gerson indicated it could be two weeks before he concedes. Meanwhile, there’s speculation as to whether Christime Quinn will have enough support to continue as Speaker of the Council. The Daily News reports on the first Countil meeting since the election:
The four council members who lost their primary races showed up and received their share of consolation and sympathy—much like members of a reality survival show e getting kicked off the island. “I’m still so physically fatigued (from the election) that nothing else has really sent in,” said Councilman Alan Gerson as other members and Council staffers kept coming up to him to shake hands or offer a bear hug. “I’m not going to go away. I’m still going to be involved in lower Manhattan.” He said his defeat in a five-candidate race to Margaret Chin was the result of a perfect storm of events that included a general low turnout except in the Chinatown portion of his district, lingering divisions within Democratic clubs, some resentment over his support of extending term limits and the presence in the race of Peter Gleason, who cut into Gerson’s base of support. He said he assured Chin—who will be the first Chinese-American to represent the district that includes Chinatown—of a smooth transition once she’s declared the formal winner.
Azi Paybarah of PolitickerNY adds:
Alan Gerson… said his vote to support the term limits extension “probably depressed our vote slightly. I don’t think it was a decisive factor.” He added, “What was more significant than term limits was the unusually low voter turnout in all the areas except Margaret’s stronghold.”
Incidentally, Margaret Chin’s campaign rejects the notion that she was only strong in Chinatown. An analysis of the precinct by precinct results, they say, indicates she performed well all over the district, including in Gerson strongholds on the West Side (more on this later today). As for the Speaker’s future, Chin said yesterday she would decide after talking in-depth with Quinn, whether to support her continued leadership of the Council. Reporters quizzed Quinn about her future yesterday:
Speaker Christine C. Quinn, meanwhile, fielded the expected flood of questions from reporters before the meeting: Were voters still mad about term limits, and is that why they ousted so many members? Was her speakership in danger? She answered each with patience and a touch of humor, but was firm in her insistence that her role as Council leader was not in danger. “I don’t know of any challengers right now,” she said.
On top of concerns about her support of Mayor Bloomberg’s successful drive to extend term limits, there seems to be growing consternation over Quinn’s unwillingness to get behind Democratic Mayoral nominee Bill Thompson. From the Daily News:
…several reliable sources confirmed that there is grumbling that Quinn might face a backlash within her ranks if she doesn’t endorse Thompson in his showdown with Mayor Bloomberg, who is running as a Republican
and Independence Party candidate. “Today, you know, barely a day and a half after the primary I haven’t made any decision on what I’m doing in either of the runoffs or in the mayor’s race,” she repeated. Quinn also wouldn’t say if she is leaving the door open to endorsing Bloomberg, with whom she’s had a close working relationship, including partnering in extending term limits last October and turning the campaign plans of many City Hall incumbents topsy turvy, including her own mayoral-bid effort.
Back downtown, the establishment appears to be coalescing around Margaret Chin. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who backed Gerson, called Chin to offer his congratulations. A Silver foe, Paul Newell, won the district leader race in Tuesday’s Primary. A bit of context from the Daily News:
After taking on a big target in the form of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver last year and receiving just 23 percent of the vote, Paul Newell scaled back his expectations this fall and managed to score a political
victory of sorts against the powerful Lower East Side lawmaker. Newell won a district leader race in Part C of Silver’s 64th AD against Avram Solomon Turkel, a former aide to Councilman Alan Gerson. Gerson, who was supported by Silver and his club, the Harry S. Truman Democratic Club, endorsed Turkel. Neither was successful on Tuesday. According to Tuesday’s unofficial results, just 1,408 people voted in this DL race. Newell received 934, or 66.34 percent, of the vote. Turkel got 474 votes, 33.66 percent.
District leader Jean Grillo also defeated a Gerson/Silver backed challenger, Noel Jefferson. Both Newell and Grillo were involved in City Council candidate Pete Gleason’s campaign.
What does it mean when Alan says there will be a smooth transition once Margaret is declared the winner? What more proof does Alan need? What is he waiting for: the messiah?
Do the right thing and concede and move on with your affairs.
I hope now people understand the frustrations constitutients ahve had with Gerson
“Gerson indicated it could be two weeks before he concedes.’
Why is this not a surprise? Gerson is late for everything!
Seriously, this statement shows his dysfunctionality, mean-spiritness and unrealistic approach to life that bedeviled the First CD for the past eight years.
Gerson didn’t lose because of bogeymen in Chinatown or low voter turnout. That is more of the prevarication from Alan that we have been hearing for decades.
He lost because the voters were educated that his attendance and performance record were among the worst in the council. He lost because his constituents were tired of his lateness, his disorganized office and his falsehoods.
Everyone else downtown seems ecstatic that Margaret has won, even supporters of other candidates. Everyone but Alan.
“The old order changeth, yielding place to new.”
– Tenneyson
Yay!
Alan Gerson and Christine Quinn should make no mistake — I am one of many active volunteers in this primary motivated by indignation over their actions in the term limits debacle.
People emigrate to New York City to escape governments that behave as our mayor and city council did, by failing to subject this issue to a voter referendum.
I’m not in a position to protect democracy by putting myself in the way of bullets and improvised explosive devices. But I can, and will, talk to my neighbors when I feel it’s at risk here at home.
As for Mr. Gerson’s potential challenge to Margaret Chin? Pete Gleason, PJ Kim and Arthur Gregory won 3455 votes — almost as many as Mr. Gerson’s 3520.
Mr. Gerson, thank you for your service to our community; the voters have spoken.
As the author of the “Getridofgerson!” blog over the last 11 months I have been pretty brutal on Alan and his supporters for being so myopic about his shortcomings. He is now gone and my job is done, the people of lower Manhattan have spoken and have chosen by far the best candidate out there to represent the district for the next 4 years. Gerson was a pretty benign guy until he decided to override the will of the voters and extend his own term limits.
I will now slip back into obscurity and rejoin my 30-something friends and enjoy the fun of a re-invigorated Council District 1.
Of course if another politician chooses to pull a similar stunt I will be back.
Da Dude
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTmdtPVTdoA Christine Quinn entering a fund raiser for herself in the W. Village and she is being booed. Her head can’t be hung any lower. Is that how a leader carries herself? She doesn’t deserve to be speaker and if Derr had stepped down and supported Yetta, Yetta would won. History would have been made and a strong message would have been sent to Mike Bloomberg. Bloomberg and Quinn knew the city council was being investigated for corruption and it made denying the people a referendum an even greater conflict of interest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMSGycNrCi8 I voted for Bloomberg twice and I will never vote for him again. I hand painted a portrait and above his shoulders are the latin words “beware princes in positions of power” modern translation, beware people in positions of power that want to be your friend. You can see the poster I made in the video. Unlike Quinn, he doesn’t bow his head when booed, he turns to me and gives me the thumbs up. I am praying for more shake ups at City Hall and that includes Quinn being de-throned as Speaker aka Mike Bloomberg’s puppet to arrests of city council members before they are allowed to resign.
Thank you,
Suzannah B. Troy