Hochul wins and Dems sweep NW Bronx

Governor first woman ‘elected’ to top spot though race was tightest in decades

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Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul held onto her seat last Tuesday against challenger Lee Zeldin, a Republican. With 95 percent of the unofficial votes counted, Hochul had a 5.6 point lead over Zeldin.

She is the first woman in state history to be elected governor after having held the seat for about a year after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned. However, the race was the tightest since George Pataki was elected governor in 1994.

In the 81st assembly district that covers the northwest Bronx, of the 27,727 votes counted, 73 percent of them went to Hochul.

Interestingly, more voters in the district — 2003 of them — voted for Hochul on the Working Families Party line than in any other district in the Bronx. The second most WFP votes came in the neighboring 82nd district, where there were 841 votes.

“Tonight, you made your voices heard loud and clear. You made me the first woman ever elected as governor of this extraordinary state,” Hochul said as she took the stage at her election night event in lower Manhattan. “But I’m not here to make history. I’m here to make a difference.”

In her victory speech, Hochul touched on the need to expand “safe, decent” housing, create good paying jobs and ensure children are succeeding in school. She said wanted to build a state, “where we live without fear, safe in our neighborhoods and our subways with illegal guns off our street. Where our fundamental rights are protected and women can make decisions about our own bodies.”

The day after the election, Zeldin congratulated Hochul on her victory and conceded the race.

“This race was a once in a generation campaign, with a very close margin in the bluest of blue states. The unrelenting passion and hard work of our grassroots volunteers and supporters made this incredibly close race possible and helped us win at least 49 of New York’s 62 counties,” he said.

Antonio Delgado, who was running alongside Hochul as lieutenant governor, beat out Alison Esposito.

In the state and congressional races, it was unsurprisingly a sweep for Democrats.

Assembly

Incumbent Jeffrey Dinowitz took home an easy victory, holding onto the 81st Assembly district seat. With 98 percent of the vote counted, Dinowitz had received 75 percent of the vote.

His Conservative challenger Kevin Pazmino had 10 percent. Jessica Altagracia Woolford, who had lost to Dinowitz in the primary but whose name still appeared on the Working Families Party line, finished with 14 percent.

Congress

Incumbent Rep. Ritchie Torres easily defeated Republican Stylo Sapaskis in the newly drawn 15th congressional district. Torres received 82 percent of the vote, with 95 percent of votes counted. Incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat was reelected as we was unopposed.

State senate

Incumbent Democrat Robert Jackson also kept his seat in the newly drawn 31st state senate district by defeating Republican Donald Skinner, 75-15 percent. Sen. Gustavo Rivera, another Democratic incumbent, was also reelected in a one-person race.

Ballot measures

All four proposals on the ballot were overwhelmingly approved by voters.

The first initiative, which 81 percent of voters gave the thumps up to, enables the state to issue $4.2 billion in bonds to fund capital projects that would combat the effects of climate change and on-going damage to the environment.

Then a city-wide measure adds a statement of values to the city charter to guide the government toward “a just and equitable city for all.” In a similar vein, a third proposal mandates that each city agency produce a racial equity plan every two years and establish a new department within the administration — the Office of Racial Equity.

After the passage of the racial justice proposals, city council speaker Adrienne Adams said, “New York City voters made clear that they support our city government prioritizing racial justice by confronting the structural and systemic inequities that have long impacted New Yorkers.

“Black New Yorkers, as well as many other communities of color have long endured disparities in access to economic and educational opportunities, health, and safety.”

The final successful ballot measure vote was on whether the government should begin to use a new formula for calculating the true cost of living in the city. Eighty-one percent of New York City voted in favor of that measure, 19 percent against.

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elections, Kathy Hochul, Lee Zeldin, governor, attorney general, Jeffrey Dinowitz, , Robert Jackson, Gustavo Rivera, ballot measures, Chuck Schumer

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