NYC 2023 Election Results: Brannan, Paladino Projected To Win

NEW YORK CITY — Democrat Justin Brannan won a hard-fought and bitter contest to keep his Brooklyn City Council seat in what was otherwise a relatively quiet 2023 Election, NY1 projected.

Brannan's battle against Republican challenger Ari Kagan was likely the highest-profile contest in Tuesday's election.

The pair spent the election lobbing pointed barbs and accusations at each other.

"Tonight is really a victory for the end of divide and conquer politics," Brannan said in his acceptance speech.

"We're certainly never going to forget those who tried to bring us down during some of the toughest moments of our campaign."

With 97 percent of votes counted, Brannan held the lead with 58.20 percent of the vote or 11,140 votes, according to the city's Board of Elections.

But the GOP was projected to win the other big race Tuesday.

Controversial Republican Vickie Paladino won a race for a City Council seat covering Bayside, Douglaston and Whitestone, NY1 projected.

Paladino had 60.1 percent of votes counted, compared to Democratic challenger Tony Avella's 39.9 percent, according to NY1.
She took the stage not an hour after polls closed in front of a sign that declared "Vic-torious."

"You've given me two more years," she said.

The race was one of the biggest in a relatively quiet 2023 election.

Paladino had spent her term facing all manner of controversies — including with a weed-smoking "squatter" — and the last days of her campaign were no different.

A Paladino staffer came under scrutiny for social media posts that referenced a white supremacist slogan, the New York Daily News first reported.

Beyond those local races, here are some other contests of note that Patch covered.

Manhattan

A swath of established Democratic incumbents in Manhattan saw challenges from Republican and Medical Freedom party candidates.

Julie Menin was projected to win against Republican Elizabeth Golluscio for the Upper East Side's District 5 seat, according to NY1.

Menin had 82.8 percent of the vote compared to Golluscio's 17.2 percent as of 9:28 p.m., NY1 reported.

Keith Powers won against faced self-described lapsed Democrat and now-Republican Brian Robinson for the District 4 seat covering the Upper East Side and Midtown, NY1 projected.

Powers had 74.8 percent of the votes counted compared to Robinson's 25.2 percent as of 9:41 p.m.

Long-time pol Gale Brewer on the Upper West Side was projected to win against Republican Clean Up NY candidate Diane di Stasio and Medical Freedom candidate Barbara Simpson, according to NY1.

Brewer had 81.4 percent of votes counted, compared to di Stasio's 17.9 percent and Simpson's 0.7 percent, preliminary results show.

Erik Bottcher locked down a victory over challenger Robert Bobrick, who ran on the Republican and Medical Freedom party lines, for the West Village's and Hell Kitchen's District 3 seat, NY1 projected.

Bottcher had 89.7 percent of votes counted as of 9:48 p.m., according to NY1.

Results steadily trickled in Tuesday after polls closed, and already Dr. Yusef Salaam, an activist and speaker who was one of the Central Park Five teenagers wrongly convicted in an infamous 1989 rape case, declared victory in a race for a Harlem City Council seat.

Salaam was unopposed, as was Carmen De La Rosa in a nearby Manhattan City Council race.

Queens

Besides the Paladino-Avella contest, the biggest borough-wide race is a three-way contest for Queens district attorney between Democratic incumbent Melinda Katz, Republican Michael Mossa and Public Safety candidate George A. Grasso.

Katz was projected to win by NY1.

Katz had 67.6 percent of the vote compared to Mossa's 27.4 percent and Grasso' 5 percent, preliminary results showed.

Incumbent Democrat Lynn Schulman declared victory for Forest Hills City Council seat.

Schulman's declaration came before NY1 called the race for District 29 Tuesday evening.

She had 67.8 percent of the vote compared to Republican Danniel Maio's 27.9 percent and independent Sukhi Singh's 4.4 percent, according to NY1.

Those results were as of 9:39 p.m. with 62.75 percent of the vote counted.

Brooklyn

Eyes also pointed to a race for Brooklyn's District 43 seat covering Bensonhurst, Sunset Park and Dyker Heights.

NY1 projected Democrat Susan Zhuang would win the race. With 98.29 percent of votes counted, Zhuang led with 56.56 of the vote, or 4,718 cotes, according to the Board of Elections. off with Republican Ying Tan and Conservative Vito LaBella for the District 43 seat c

Republican Challenger Ying Tan trailed behind with 26 percent of the vote, and Vito LaBella garnered 14.55 percent of the vote.

Inna Vernikov, who was recently arrested on gun charges, was projected to win her race for Brooklyn's 48th District, NY1 reported.

Elsewhere in Brooklyn, Democrats Sandy Nurse, Lincoln Restler, Shahana Hanif and Jennifer Gutiérrez were all projected to win their races with healthy leads, according to NY1 and the Board of Elections.

"From universal composting to an immigrant workers’ bill of rights, we’ve done so much in this term to build an anti-racist feminist city. But we’re just getting started," Hanif said in a tweet claiming victory.

Democrats Darlene Mealy, Chi Ossé, Chris Banks and Crystal Hudson ran uncontested and maintained their seats on City Council covering large chunks of Brooklyn.