Kayla Santosuosso celebrates her win in the Democratic primary in June. Santosuosso declared victory Tuesday night in the contentious race to represent City Council District 47.
File photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Democrat Kayla Santosuosso declared victory Tuesday night in the race for southern Brooklyn’s Council District 47, after a tight contest against Republican George Sarantopoulos that remained close as results trickled in.
As of 10 p.m. on Nov. 4, Santosuosso had 59% of the vote, while Sarantopoulos had just over 40%, with 95% of scanners reporting, according to unofficial results from the New York City Board of Elections. The two were vying to succeed incumbent Democrat Justin Brannan, who is term-limited.
At an election night watch party at Salty Dog, Santosuosso thanked supporters and pledged to represent “every corner of the district.”
Just a mile away at The Wicked Monk, Sarantopoulos’ supporters remained hopeful even as Santuosso’s lead grew.
Campaign manager Colby Conerly said voter turnout had been particularly high in “a lot of our strongholds” including Gravesend, Bath Beach and Sea Gate.
“I wish this was more of a fun election, but there’s so much at stake right now in New York City, especially in souther Brooklyn,” he said. “A lot of people are scared, they want to be comforted. They want to hear multiple different sides and they want to, I think everyone can agree, they just want the city to be safe.”
Conerly said southern Brooklyn — and Coney Island in particular — are “kind of deprived, it’s kind of forgotten,” by the city, and has been neglected with regard to public transit, jobs, and development.
“Those people, they can’t wait four more years,” Conerly said. “They can’t even wait a year or two from now. They need jobs down there, they need a ferry service to take them where they can get jobs. And they need the jobs to come to Coney Island.”
The race was one of the most widely-watched in New York City. District 47, which includes most of Bay Ridge, Coney Island and Sea Gate as well as parts of Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Gravesend is deep purple, and has seen several close races in recent years.
In 2021, before redistricting changed district lines, Brannan defeated Republican Brian Fox by just a few hundred votes in District 43. Two years later, Brannan took a more decisive 3,000-vote victory over newly-minted Republican Ari Kagan in District 47 in what was widely expected to be a much closer race.
Santosuosso, a lawyer and community advocate who currently serves as Brannan’s chief counsel, cruised to victory in the Democratic primary last June, securing nearly 80% of the vote.
The Republican primary proved more contentious. Sarantopoulos would up just 16 votes ahead of Richie Barsamian, resulting in an automatic recount and allegations of voter fraud. More than a month after the election, Sarantopoulos was certified as the winner.
More than 6,800 votes separated the two candidates when Santosuosso declared victory. Sarantopoulos had not yet conceded by press time.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.