Christopher Marte is planning to run against District 1 City Council member Margaret Chin in the general election, which takes place Nov. 7.
In the Sept. 12 Democratic Primary, Marte lost to the two-term incumbent by just 222 votes. Chin was not officially declared a winner until Sept. 26, after absentee and affidavit ballots were counted. Marte ran particularly strong in Soho and Greenwich Village, as well as in the Two Bridges neighborhood, and he held his own on the Lower East Side. Turnout was low, especially in Chinatown, Chin’s political base of support.
Marte will announce at a press conference at City Hall tomorrow that he’ll be running on the Independence Party line. In the primary, he received 5 write-in votes from Independence Party members. In a press release put out last night, Marte said, “We can’t give up the fight for the future of our District. Our community still has reason to hope for change.”
The primary results, said Marte, show that he, “has firm support from each neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.” Chin finished up with 5.363 votes to 5141 votes for Marte. Two other candidates, Aaron Foldenauer and Dashia Imperiale pulled in 734 and 459 votes respectively. “54% of the community expressed their desire for change,” explained Marte, “and I see it as my obligation to that majority to continue to the general.”
According to the candidate list for the general election, Chin will be running as the nominee of the Democratic Party and also of the Working Families Party. Bryan Jung is the Republican Party nominee. Foldenauer is running on the Liberal Party line.
In a statement provided to the Daily News, a spokesperson for the Chin campaign said, “Councilwoman Chin is proud to be on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines this November. Democrats sent Councilwoman Chin to victory in the Democratic Primary Election based upon her strong record of preserving and expanding affordable housing and standing up for tenants.”
UPDATE 10/5 Aaron Foldenauer is out with a lengthy statement regarding Marte’s decision to run in the general election. It reads, in part:
Chris Marte will be no more independent of the current dysfunctional democratic leadership than Margaret Chin has been. That’s precisely what led to the huge debacles in this District, such as Rivington House and the pending closure of the Elizabeth Street Garden… In contrast, I am running a truly independent campaign with the support of the Liberal Party, which has a history of backing candidates independent of the failed establishment… Chris Marte has already squandered a golden opportunity in the Democratic Primary. Marte had unprecedented backing from establishment political clubs and organizations and had a tremendous amount of funding… That he was unable to capitalize on Chin’s immense unpopularity with all of those resources is stunning. This does not bode well for Marte’s chances in the General Election.
