A seemingly quiet election day on March 23, with low voter turnout at, at least, two polling sites in Norwood has seen Eric Dinowitz take the lead in the Bronx District 11 City Council special election race, following the release by the New York City Board of Election of the unofficial, initial election night results so far. Dinowitz won 42 percent of the vote, followed by Mino Lora with 25 percent, and Jessica Haller with 15 percent. 97.59 percent of voting scanners have been reported.

 

He added that he wanted to thank everyone who has supported him and his campaign. “Most importantly, I want to thank every voter who made their voice heard. Regardless of whether you voted for me or not, endorsed me or not, I want to work with you to ensure our community has an equitable recovery that ensures no Bronxite gets left behind.”

 

Dinowitz then addressed “all of the Northwest Bronx,” saying, “Our future will depend on all of us working together, and I will be a leader who will fight to be a voice for all in City Hall.”

 

It is understood that the initial results posted by the Board of Elections on the night of March 23 include the tally of early votes and election day votes for the first round only, although Norwood News is validating this information with the NYC Board of Elections, for accuracy. Absentee ballots still have to be counted. In accordance with the ranked choice voting system, a second count of second-choice votes will be triggered if no one candidate reaches 50 percent of the votes after all the first choice votes are counted, including all first-choice absentee ballot votes.

In the recent Feb. 23 Queens special election, which also applied ranked-choice voting, results were not known until  March 18, so it is anticipated that the final results of the District 11 race may not be known for another few weeks.

 

Meanwhile, Lora, District 11 candidate, and founder and executive director of the People’s Theater Project, also released a statement on election night, following the release of the unofficial results to date, saying, “The Bronx County machine and Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz forced a low, turnout special election to try and guarantee Dinowitz’s son would win, with the added help of real estate money. They are so unconcerned about the people of District 11, that they forced this extra vote during the pandemic in one of the hardest hit districts in the country.”

 

Lora continued, “But the Bronx has shown we will stand up for ourselves. Whatever the final outcome is, once ranked choice analysis is done, it’s clear they will come at us even harder in the June primary. It’s also clear that we ran the strongest campaign, and we look forward to having the support of the other candidates as we fight to win the June 22nd election. This seat belongs to the people of the Bronx.”

 

Haller, environmentalist and tech entrepreneur, also reacted to the release of the initial election night results, saying, “I knew from day one that it wouldn’t be easy to take on a powerful political machine, but I’ve never been afraid to stand up and offer a new course. I’m so proud of the campaign we’ve run and the vision we’ve put forward for a sustainable, equitable, and resilient future for the Bronx.”

 

She continued, “I’m grateful to all the supporters and volunteers who shared that vision. We have days or even weeks before we know the final outcome, and every vote is counted. This certainly isn’t the end of the road for our fight for new leadership for our community – we’re only just getting started.”

 

As for the remaining unofficial results as of election night, Dan Padernacht won 12.91 percent, Kevin Pazmino won 2.47% and Carlton Berkley won 1.94%. Write-ins accounted for 0.33%.

 

Pazmino provided the following statement to the Norwood News following the release of the initial results on election night. “While it is unfortunate I lost tonight’s race, it was an expected result considering the amount of outside money being poured into the race.” He added, “I believe Dinowitz is a weak candidate but I wish him luck. The Democratic primary will be hard for him. I look forward to a rematch in November’s general election. I will be on both the Conservative & Republican lines.”

Special elections typically result in a low voter turnout. The special election was called following the election of former District 11 Councilman Andy Cohen to the Bronx Supreme Court in November 2020. District 11 covers the neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Norwood, Van Cortlandt Village, Wakefield, Riverdale, Woodlawn Heights and part of Bedford Park.

 

Matthew Pitt from the New York City Campaign Finance Board attended the Bronx Community Board 7 general meeting on Wednesday, March 24, and said results should be expected in another two to three weeks.