Dear Editor,
With reference to the missive by Mike Persaud (June 21) endorsing Donovan Richards for Queens Boro President and Adrienne Adams for City Council (Greater Richmond Hill area) on Tuesday June 22 in the primary election, please note that elections are also held to choose nominee for Mayor and several other citywide posts as well as for 51 city council seats. The City of Schenectady in upstate NY also holds primary on Tuesday for its seven seats. Polls open at 6 am and close at 9 pm in NYC. Adrienne Adams and Richards are shoo-in based on voters I interviewed. The primary election selects the candidate (nominee) who will represent a party in the general election the first Tuesday in November. Only party members (those who are registered as a member of a party) can vote in the primary within their party to choose the nominee. Most Guyanese are registered as members of the Democratic Party. The Republican Party also holds Primary to select its nominee for various posts.
A dozen candidates are seeking the Democratic Party nomination for Mayor. A candidate must garner over fifty percent of the votes in order to win the party’s nomination for any post. Since New York is largely a Democratic city, the Democratic nominee of the June 22 Primary is likely to become Mayor in November. Opinion polls suggest no candidate is likely to garner 50% of the votes in the primary for the Democratic nomination. In the past, there was a run off between the top two candidates. This year’s Primary has ranked choice voting of candidates for all positions. Voters can rank up to five choices on the ballot for any post. In the rank choice system, no vote goes to waste and every vote helps to determine the winner. If no
candidate gets 50% in the first rank choice, then the second and other rank choice kicks in to determine which candidate crosses the 50% threshold from the various ranks.
According to the latest opinion poll, Eric Adams, a Black American, is the front runner as he has been over the last four months with some 23% first rank support, followed by Kathryn Garcia, a Hispanic/White American, with 16% and others trailing. An analysis conducted by a newspaper a month ago suggests the Brooklyn Boro President Eric Adams would win the nomination with 52% when various ranked choices are added. He was closely followed by Andrew Yang, a Chinese American, with 48%. Since then, Kathryn Garcia has moved up in the polls and was almost neck and neck with Adams as the first rank choice two weeks ago. She also has a very good chance of winning the nomination with the varied rankings. Yang has slipped in support as has Scott Stringer, a Jewish American, who led the poll a few months back. The other candidates have no chance of winning the nomination. A few days ago, Yang and Garcia announced they will team up and made joint appearances. Yang has encouraged his supporters to vote for Garcia as second choice and vice versa. It appears that the race is shaping up as a contest between Adams and Garcia.
Guyanese Americans, Indo-Caribbeans, and South Asian from Queens and other groups around the city have endorsed Adams. This writer has also written favourably for Adams who has made several visits to Richmond Hill over the last few months seeking support. Adams has political experience, leadership, and vision to lead the city. Garcia served as Sanitation Commissioner. Adams served as an Assemblyman and Boro President for almost eight years. Several other posts are also up for grabs including Comptroller (Auditor) and City Council seats. Several Guyanese and Caribbean nationals are in the fray. Guyanese are urged to come out and vote!
Sincerely,
Vishnu Bisram
