New York Primary results: Big night for Yusef Salaam in Harlem
NEW YORK -- New Yorkers went to the polls Tuesday in an off-year primary election in which concerns about public safety, education and trash pickup didn't translate into actually going to the polls.
It was a night for incumbents, except in one hotly contested race in Harlem, and, somewhat surprisingly, one in Brooklyn.
READ MORE: New York Primary election results
The race to represent Central Harlem in the City Council was a contest between old Harlem and new Harlem, and, based on the latest returns, it seems voters were looking for new blood.
With more than 92% of the vote counted, Yusef Salaam had 50.5%, Assemblywoman Inez Dinkens had 25.3%, Assemblyman Al Taylor had 14.6%. Incumbent Kristin Richardson Jordan withdrew from the race.
It was probably the most competitive race in an off-year election that brought few people to the polls. But nevertheless, Salaam of the "Exonerated 5," seems to have prevailed.
Supporters at Salaam's election night headquarters seemed energized by the contest, in which he promised fresh blood, change and solutions to the failures of the criminal justice system.
"This campaign has been about those who have been counted out. This campaign has been about those who have been forgotten. This campaign has been about our Harlem community who has been pushed into the margins of life," Salaam said.
It was a victory, not only for Salaam, but for Manhattan Democratic Leader Keith Wright, who backed him over the other two seasoned Harlem politicians in the race. Dinkens had represented the district on the council previously, but ran for the Assembly because she was term limited.
"I'm reminded of what Muhammad Ali said when he took on Sonny Liston: He said, 'We're gonna shock the world.' Harlem is back. We're back!" Wright said.
Mayor Eric Adams, who has complained that the City Council had become too left leaning and too progressive, backed Dinkens because her moderate brand of politics meshed with his.
"This is a real battle of the determination of what we want our City Council to look like," Adams said.
Admittedly, it was an unusual election. Because of redistricting, council members had to run again after just two years in office.
Of the 51 council seats, there were primaries in just 17 districts, and 13 had more than two candidates, so rank-choice voting came into play.
That type of voting was also in play in the Queens district attorney's race in which DA Melinda Katz appeared headed for victory over Devian Daniels and George Grasso. Grasso will be on the ballot in November.
Bronx DA Darcel Clark also appeared to coast to anther four-year term.
There was also an upset in the making in Brooklyn, where firebrand Councilman Charles Barron was behind in the count. With 99% of the vote in, challenger Chris Banks had 51%, Barron had 43.6% and Jamilah Rose had 5.4%.
It doesn't appear that rank-choice voting rules will apply here. If one person gets 50% of the first-place votes, that person is the winner outright. It remains to be seen if there will be absentee ballots to count.