On Monday, Jan. 4, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio set March 23 as the Special Election date for the 11th and 15th City Council races in the Bronx. Announcing the date, the mayor did not comment in the press release on recent calls to both the mayor and the governor, as reported by Norwood News, to waive the 450 minimum signatures needed by candidates from residents to get their names on the ballot. Some candidates have said such a waiver would reduce mass person-to-person contact during a time of rising COVID-19 cases across the city.

 

“I am declaring Tuesday, March 23, 2021, as the date for the 15th and 11th City Council Districts special elections to elect a Council Member to serve until December 31, 2021,” the mayor wrote in a press release. “This date, within the window allowed by the City Charter, will give residents the chance to make thoughtful and informed decisions about their representation. Eligible Bronx voters can participate with early voting, in-person voting, or by returning an absentee ballot, and I encourage everyone to make their voices heard in these special elections.” the mayor added.

 

During a press conference the same day, the mayor said, “I’m going to sign the executive orders to establish those special elections. And to all the folks out there in those two districts who want to serve your communities, get out there and get petitioning because we have special elections called for March 23rd.”   

 

Candidates, Carlton Berkley, Jessica Haller, Latchmi Gopal, Abigail Martin, Dan Padernacht and Marcos Sierra have endorsed the call to either waive the signature requirement, or reduce the minimum threshold of 450 signatures in order to determine ballot eligibility. One other proposal is to allow ballot qualification to be based on the minimum campaign contribution threshold set by the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB)’s matching funds program, though some grassroots campaigns, who may not yet have met this threshold, said, if chosen, this option may disenfranchise their particular campaigns from the process.

 

About a dozen candidates are signed up to run in both races. In the 11th City Council district, the candidates aim to replace former Councilman Andrew Cohen, who as reported by the Norwood News, cut short his final term to take up a seat on the New York Supreme Court system, based in the Bronx, while in the 15th City Council district race, as also reported by Norwood News, candidates are running to replace former City Councilman and current Congressman Ritchie Torres.

 

Following news of the announcement of the special election date, District 11 candidate, Haller released a statement saying, “I am running against the Dinowitz-led Bronx political machine to truly represent the people of this district.” She added, “Unlike the local political establishment that seeks to preserve and expand the power of a select few, our grassroots campaign is focused on disrupting the machine status quo to empower people to create a sustainable, resilient, and equitable future where everyone can thrive.”

 

Haller’s comments are likely in reference to her political rival, Eric Dinowitz, male district leader for the 81st Assembly District and son of Assemblyman for the 81st Assembly District, Jeffrey Dinowitz. The former Dinowitz is also running in the 11th City Council District race. He was endorsed on Dec. 30 by the Ben Franklin Reform Democratic Club, which has as its catchment area the 81st Assembly District in the Northwest Bronx. Both Jeffrey and Eric are members of the club.

 

Prior to the endorsement announcement, on Dec. 21, the other six candidates in the race, Carlton Berkley, Jessica Haller, Mino Lora, Abigail Martin, Dan Padernacht and Marcos Sierra sent a letter to the club asserting there had been a violation of the club’s bylaws in terms of how the vote on the endorsement process was handled. The assertion has been denied by club president, Michael Heller, and denounced by the assemblyman and the district leader.

 

Norwood News has reached out to both the mayor’s and the governor’s office for comment on the requested waiver. We have not received an immediate response.