A special election is underway in Manhattan’s Council District 3, which includes the Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement.
Voters have regularly elected gay lawmakers to the City Council. Carl Wilson, who is gay, is seeking to continue to tradition. He is running to succeed his former boss in the Council, Erik Bottcher.
What You Need To Know
Mayor Mamdani endorsed an ally in a special election for City Council in Manhattan
Manhattan’s 3rd district is home to the Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the gay rights movement
The Manhattan Democratic establishment backs Carl Wilson, who would continue the tradition of gay council members from the district
“I’ve been in the district working block by block helping folks solve problems for nearly a decade,” Wilson said. “I am the LGBT candidate in the race. I think that’s an important perspective.”
But that tradition could be broken as Mayor Zohran Mamdani has endorsed a straight candidate, hoping for an ally on the Council.
He endorsed a fellow democratic socialist Lindsey Boylan. Mamdani seemed unconcerned about rankling the long time gay Democrats and activists.
“The decision to endorse Lindsey is one that come more from seeing her bravery, her courage, satanding up over the years,” he said.
Boylan describes herself in campaign material as a whistelblower — she was part of a group of women who accused Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment when he was governor. Cuomo resigned even while denying the allegations.
Boylan said it’s meaningful to district voters.
“They need to know if i’m going to stand up for them, no matter what,” she said.
The special election is ranked choice and there are a total of four candidates — all are Democrats, running on nonpartisan ballot lines. Election Day is Tuesday, April 28.
The other two candidates are community activists involved in contentious neighborhood issues.
Layla Law-Gisiko is fighting plans to demolish aging public housing developments, to make way for the construction of new ones.
“I am known for advocating against bad plans and advocating as fiercly for better plans,” Law-Gisiko said.
Leslie Boghosian Murphy, chair of her community board, covering Hell’s Kitchen and Chelsea, is also running.
“What we dont have in our district is any family-sized units or working-class units and that is central to my campaign, because we have to address ffordability across the board,” she said.