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Yusef Salaam declares victory in Harlem’s high-stakes NYC Council race [1]
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Date: 2023-06-28
Yusef Salaam, a political novice known for being wrongfully convicted in the “Central Park 5” rape case over three decades ago, declared victory late Tuesday in Harlem’s high-stakes City Council primary election, triumphing over two longtime lawmakers from the storied neighborhood.
With more than 97% of votes counted, Salaam was leading his top contender, Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, by more than 2,500 ballots in the Democratic primary for the neighborhood’s 9th Council District, according to unofficial tallies released by the city Board of Elections. The third contender in the race, Assemblyman Al Taylor, trailed behind Dickens by more than 1,000 ballots, the tallies show, putting Salaam in the lead with just over 50% of the vote share.
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If Salaam’s lead stays above the 50% threshold when all is said and done, he’ll secure victory without having to go through the ranked-choice process, in which voters’ secondary choices are added to the mix until a candidate nets a simple majority and is crowned the victor.
No official call had been made in the 9th District race as of shortly before 11 p.m.
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But Salaam’s lead was substantial enough that he declared victory at a jubilant victory party at Harlem Tavern on Frederick Douglass Blvd.
“What has happened on this campaign has restored my faith in knowing that I was born for this,” he told supporters. “I am not a seasoned politician. So therefore this was not politics as usual.”
City Council candidate Yusef Salaam is pictured in Harlem Tuesday afternoon. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)
Neither Dickens nor Taylor immediately offered comment on Salaam’s likely win.
Dickens’ defeat marks a stain to the political record of Mayor Adams, who endorsed her earlier this month. He did not offer an endorsement in any other Council race this year, underscoring the importance of the uptown showdown.
On this year’s campaign trail, Dickens has railed against Salaam’s perceived lack of relevant experience, noting that he has never before held elected office or worked in the legislative branch.
Dickens, a longtime fixture of Harlem politics who previously served in the Council before being elected to the state Assembly in 2016, also slammed Salaam for only recently moving back to the city after living in Georgia for years.
Salaam took the criticism in stride, arguing the fact that he’s an outsider is a plus in the entrenched world of New York City politics.
“I think lack of experience in politics is a great thing,” he told reporters outside a polling place in Harlem earlier Tuesday.
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Speaking of his wrongful conviction as a teenager and subsequent exoneration after years behind bars for a 1989 crime he didn’t commit, Salaam added: “I was 15 years old when I was run over by the spiked wheels of justice. And here I am now taking that same platform and turn it in into a purpose, trying to take my pain and doing something about it.”
The 9th District race became one of the most closely watched in this summer’s primary cycle after incumbent Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan abruptly announced last month she would not seek reelection.
Salaam’s presumed win came at a hefty cost. According to his latest finance disclosure, Salaam’s campaign shelled out more than $230,000 on getting him elected — more than any other candidate in this year’s Council elections.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-yusef-salaam-declares-victory-in-harlem-20230628-hcwamathdbelbnyjk4nf7bcrri-story.html
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