Next week we’ll have a pretty good idea how the 2017 campaigns for City Council are shaping up. On Tuesday, candidates must file finance reports with the city covering the past six months. One candidate in District 2, which covers the East Village, isn’t waiting for the filings to become public.
Carlina Rivera announced last night that she has raised $176,000, including $76,000 in private funds. This means Rivera is just about finished fundraising for the Council race. The spending cap for Council campaigns is $182,000. The city offers a six-to-one match for the first $175 in donations from local residents. A press release from Rivera’s campaign noted that she has “one of the largest small donor bases in the city” and that her filing, “demonstrates that she is the clear front-runner in the open–seat primary to replace Councilwoman Rosie Mendez.”
Rivera is Mendez’s legislative director and has been endorsed by the three-term City Councilwoman. Mendez is barred from running this year due to the city’s term limits law.
According to the Campaign Finance Board, two other candidates have filed to run in the District 2 primary this coming fall. They include Jasmin Sanchez, a community activist who has worked for State Sen. Daniel Squadron; and Mary Silver, an attorney active in local education issues.
District 2 includes Gramercy Park, Kips Bay and East Village, but also a few pockets below East Houston Street on the Lower East Side. Buildings in the neighborhood currently represented by Mendez include the Vladeck Houses, Masaryk Towers and 210 Stanton St.
