The debacle of voting in NYC (note how the still haven’t finished the count and don’t expect to complete it until Thanksgiving) rests partly on the shoulders of Bill Perkins’ wife – Pamela Perkins – who was given a patronage job on the NYC Board of Elections. https://www.vote.nyc/page/commissioners-management.
Perkins himself is not expected to run for City Council (given his health concerns and one of the worst attendance records of a City Council Member). An article last month in New York County Politics notes a number of Harlem Machine members who are hoping, again, to play musical chairs and take Perkins empty seat.
City Councilmember Bill Perkins (D-Central Harlem, Morningside Heights, Upper West Side, East Harlem) will not seek reelection next year. A consultant fielding multiple polls throughout the city presented New York County Politics with data offering insights over who may succeed the veteran elected.
Former Assemblymember and Manhattan Democrats Leader Keith Wright won the poll, with 24 percent of respondents favoring him. Assemblymember Inez Dickens (D-El Barrio, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Morningside Heights, Upper West Side, Washington Heights,) was the runner-up, with 17 percent support.
Trailing the two were local activists Cordell Cleare (D) with 4 percent, and William Allen (D) with 3 percent, followed by Northern Manhattan Office Director to Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer (D) Athena Moore (D) with 2 percent. Harlem District Leader Keith Lilly (D) and writer, teaching artist, and activist Kristin Richardson Jordan (D) were tied for last place with 1 percent.
In terms of favorability, Wright and Dickens’ are similar to that of the district’s congressional representative, Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-Harlem, Inwood, Bronx): in the 43-49 percent range. However, Dickens has an unfavorability rating of 14%, nearly three times that of Wright’s 5 percent rating.
On experience, voters overwhelmingly preferred a government veteran to a fresh-faced outsider, 54 percent to 29 percent.
Republicans v. Democrats and COVID Rates
If you recall, I posted this map soon after the election to illustrate where New Yorkers voted for Democrats, and where they voted for Republicans:
It’s interesting to compare that map with today’s NYC Department of Health 7-Day COVID rate map:
