Assemblywoman Jaime R. Williams won the Democratic primary for Brooklyn’s 59th Assembly District by nearly a two-to-one margin, holding off Democratic Socialists of America-backed challenger Jibreel Jalloh in the June 23 primary, according to the Canarsie Courier.
The win sends Williams to the November general election, where she will appear on both the Democratic and Conservative Party ballot lines. The 59th Assembly District covers Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Mill Basin, Marine Park, Bergen Beach and Gerritsen Beach in the southeast corner of the borough.
DSA-backed candidates won several races across New York City in the same primary. Williams’s campaign runs on the slogan “Always Accessible. Always Listening. Always Working.”
Supporters gathered on election night at the newly relocated Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club at 5809 Avenue T in Mill Basin, where volunteers, community leaders and elected officials celebrated after months of campaigning across the district.
Williams opened her remarks by thanking God and the volunteers who worked the campaign. “I just want to thank everyone who was really involved in this campaign,” she said. “For the past few months, we just kept hammering away, and this week we pounded the sidewalk, in the rain, in the sun, and we were still working together.”
She credited former State Senator Carl Kruger for his mentorship during the campaign, and thanked campaign workers, the TJ Club, her husband Philip Williams, community leaders and the Jewish community. “I’m just really happy to be able to move to the General Election in November and continue fighting for our community,” she said.
She echoed the message in a campaign mailer sent after the vote. “To the thousands of voters who joined in supporting our campaign and sending me back to Albany, thank you,” it reads. “Your trust and belief in our community drive me every day to keep fighting for the neighborhoods we love.”
Williams also won the seat for Female District Leader in the 59th Assembly District. In the same district, incumbent District Leader Frank Seddio beat Stanley Scutt for Male Democratic District Leader.
Several other neighborhood races were on the ballot. In the neighboring 58th Assembly District, Assemblywoman Monique Chandler-Waterman defeated Councilwoman Mercedes Narcisse for Female Democratic District Leader, and State Senator Kevin Parker won the race for Male Democratic District Leader there. Incumbent Thomas DiNapoli won the contest for New York State Comptroller.
Featured image: Bushwick Daily image
