Niou Wins Primary in 65th Assembly District Race Long Dominated by Sheldon Silver

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Yuh-Line Niou claimed victory Tuesday in a crowded Democratic primary long dominated by disgraced former State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Despite the packed field, and at times heated race, the final results didn't end up being all that close.

Niou claimed 31.55 percent of the vote to finish first in the primary with all 98 precincts reporting. Jenifer Rajkumar finished second with 18.55 percent of the vote, Paul Newell finished third with 15.89 percent and incumbent Alice Cancel finished fourth with 12.30 percent.

Cancel had won a special run-off election in April to replace Silver, but was soundly defeated by Niou just five months later. Cancel, painted as an ally of Silver, had defeated Niou by 700 votes in April. That swung wildly in the September primary as Niou defeated Cancel by over 1,600 votes.

"I’m humbled to be the first Asian-American to represent Chinatown, or any part of Manhattan, in the state legislature," Niou said.

Silver had dominated the district, even as it shifted in shape and designation, since 1977. He was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in prison on political corruption charges in May.

Niou thanked her supporters at a rally Tuesday evening. She also received widespread support from labor unions, taking special care to thank them as she read prepared notes from her cell phone surrounded by supporters and the media.

"I'm just going to call this out once — 32!" Niou shouted, referring to the support she received from massive labor union 32BJ SEIU. "I want to thank the Building and Trades Council, and the Teamsters."

She most recently served as Chief of Staff for State Assemblymember Ron Kim, who represents the 40th District in Queens.

Niou is heavily favored to head to the State Assembly in the Nov. 8 election against Republican Bryan Jung, who ran unopposed in the primary.

According to NY1, she is the first person of Asian descent chosen to represent the Democratic party in a Manhattan State Assembly election.

Cancel, who congratulated Niou in a statement and on Twitter late Tuesday, seemed more upset with the defeat when speaking to reporters after her concession. She called out Niou as someone who "parachuted" into the district and had lived there for only two years compared to her 30 years. Cancel also wasted no time in declaring on Twitter she would be running for the seat again in two years.

Turnout was fairly strong for the primary, with 8,692 voters making their way to the polls. The race had the second-best turnout of all Assembly districts in the state with 20.16 percent of active registered Democrats casting ballots. Only the 97th District, which covers southern Rockland County just northwest of the city, had a higher percentage turnout (26.3 percent).

ORIGINAL STORY

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — The 65th District fielded an unusually crowded primary on Tuesday after former Assemblyman Sheldon Silver was convicted earlier this year on charges of federal corruption. Incumbent Alice Cancel ran to claim the Democratic nod against Yuh-Line Niou, Gigi K. Li, Don Lee, Jenifer Rajkumar and Paul Newell.

Cancel won Silver's seat in Assembly District 65 after a special election in April, and the Democrat is expected to win again in November. Bryan Jung is running unopposed on the Republican side.

Niou is Chief of Staff to Queens Assemblyman Ron Kim, Li works for housing rights and has experience working with residents through a past term as community board chair, Newell is an affordable housing advocate who ran against Silver in 2008, Lee is a Chinatown community activist who works in technology, and Rajkumar is a civil rights attorney.

Prominent issues in the campaign have been the pending building developments in the Two Bridges area, affordable housing, tenants' rights and students' test scores.

Cancel stirred up a little controversy in the race at a candidate forum in late August, when she was the only candidate to say "All Lives Matter" over "Black Lives Matter," prompting a room full of boos, DNAinfo reported. Cancel was also the only candidate who said she would re-elect Mayor Bill de Blasio, while the other candidates said they were undecided.

Voting opened at 6 a.m. and the polls were scheduled to close at 9 p.m.

The general election for District 65 Assemblyman is Nov. 8.

Photos by Sarah Kaufman/Patch