Margaret Chin Narrowly Wins Third Term

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Council Member Margaret Chin was narrowly reelected to her third term representing District 1 in City Council, according to preliminary election results.

WNYC called the race for Chin, a Democrat, at about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday night. According to the preliminary election tallies from the Board of Elections, Chin just barely netted 50 percent of votes among voting residents in her district. Third-party challenger Christopher Marte came closest to unseating Chin, with 37 percent of the vote, per the initial election results.

Chin just barely edged out Marte in the Democratic primaries, beating him for the party's nomination by just 222 votes. Because a few voters voted for Marte as a write-in candidate in the primary, he was able to launch a third-party bid for the seat as a nominee of the Independence Party.

Chin will continue to represent District 1, which includes Tribeca and the Lower East Side. During the campaign, she was repeatedly criticized for the spate of development in her district, and faulted by critics who said she hasn't done enough to curb the spread of new developments. Criticism from constituents along plus a bitter campaign period meant Chin just barely re-won her seat.

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LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Incumbent City Council Member Margaret Chin has faced a surprisingly tough battle for re-election this year, and Tuesday's general election will determine whether she'll represent Lower Manhattan in City Hall for her third term.

Chin faced a number of critical opponents during the Democratic primary, which she won by just 222 votes. Her biggest challenger on Tuesday will be Christopher Marte, the political novice who came shockingly close to unseating Chin as the Democratic nominee.

Since the primaries, Marte has launched a campaign as an independent candidate and has worked to mobilize critics of Chin to support him as an unlikely third-party candidate for City Hall.

Here's everything you need to know before Tuesday for the City Council District 1 election.

Who are the candidates?

Margaret Chin is vying for her third term representing District 1 in City Hall. Chin is running as the nominee for both the Democratic and Working Families parties. Chin had received a number of notable endorsements for re-election, and has spent more on her campaign than any other candidate in the district. Despite these advantages, she found herself caught amid a fraught debate in lower Manhattan over development and the availability of affordable housing. Community members have grown increasingly frustrated as the area has gentrified and as developers have announced plans to build up to five high-rise towers to the Two Bridges waterfront area.Chin has proposed legislation that could block some of the high-rise towers planned for the area. Chin's opponents in the District 1 race, however, say that she hasn't done enough to oppose development.

Newcomer Christopher Marte has mounted a vocal opposition to Chin by rallying supporters primarily around the issue of development. The 28-year-old, who has worked for IBM and the nonprofit Defy Ventures, is running as the nominee for the Independence Party.

Aaron Foldenauer is running as a nominee of the Liberal Party.

Bryan Jung is running as a nominee of the Republican Party.

Where can I vote?

To find your polling place, enter your address here.

When can I vote?

The elections take place on Tuesday, November 7. Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Patch will be covering the results of the biggest races as they happen.

What about the citywide races?

Mayor Bill de Blasio is running for his second term in office. Also of note will be the results for the Manhattan district attorney's office. Prosecutors are almost always re-elected, but thanks to lots of recent critical press, Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance is facing unexpectedly viable challengers.

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