Back in June, during the primaries, there were more than a dozen candidates running for City Council in Bushwick and its surrounding neighborhoods. Now, with the general election coming up on Nov. 2, there are only several left in the running.
Depending on your district, these are the City Council candidates you’ll see on your ballot.
District 34
Jennifer Gutierrez (Democrat)
Born and raised in Queens by parents who emigrated from Columbia in the 1980s, Jennifer Gutierrez has been around NYC local politics for a while. Most recently, as the Chief of Staff to current City Council District 34 representative Antonio Reynoso, the bulk of Gutierrez’s work has been focused on launching participatory budgeting in the district, a way of distributing taxpayer money in which local residents decide how to allocate it.
“I have a long history of organizing and working in the district and have a deep understanding of our communities’ histories, voices and needs,” Gutierrez told Bushwick Daily in June.
“My top priorities when I am in City Council would be ensuring that affordable housing and healthcare are human rights, universal child care and after-school are a given, open spaces are funded, we focus on equitable educational opportunities, and to make sure we have a thoughtful and caring approach to justice – instead of funding desperately ill-equipped PD to patrol.”
Check out this op-ed Gutierrez wrote for Bushwick Daily making the case for alternatives to big real estate.
Lutchi Gayot (Black Lives Matter Party)
Luchti Gayot is a lifelong Brooklyner who has spent the majority of his time in business, not politics. However, the small business owner did run as a Republican against Congresswoman Yvettte Clarke last year.
“When you take a look at what a lot of other people who are running for office are offering, I felt like we need a lot more deeper policy proposals,” Gayot previously told Bushwick Daily.
Gayot’s campaign website states that he wants to establish funding to help tenants cover back rents, provide access to vocational and technical training for every adult and child in our city and put forth common sense economic policies to “ensure small business owners recover successfully.”
Terrell Finner (Power to the People Party)
Finner, a nonprofit administrator, grew up in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Penn State University in 2015 before moving to New York to enroll in a post-bacc program at Columbia’s School of General Studies, according to his campaign website.
Finner’s main priorities, according to his site, are “affording real access to housing, education, and healthcare; fairness in economic recovery while ensuring COVID-19 protections for essential workers; and supporting the arts, entertainment and culture scenes in our dynamic district and city at large.”
Specifically, he wants to take measures such as establishing a North Brooklyn Arts District, providing free internet to all New Yorkers and expanding COVID-19 relief assistance, among other things.
District 37
Sandy Nurse (Democrat)
Sandy Nurse is local community organizer, founder of BK ROT, a co-founder of the Mayday Space and a carpenter. She has been endorsed by a long list of local politicians, including Congressperson Nydia Velasquez, Congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, State Senator Julia Salazar and others.
“I am running for City Council because my community is facing multiple crises and we need a representative that will fight for the solutions we so desperately need,” Nurse previously told Bushwick Daily.
“My commitment to you is to fight to guarantee: housing for every New Yorker, high quality education for every child, affordable childcare for families, real public safety, and a green jobs and infrastructure plan for our city to thrive despite climate change.”
Check out this this op-ed Nurse wrote for Bushwick Daily on her work organizing local groups like the Mayday Space and BK ROT.
Franklin Gonzalez (Republican)
Franklin Gonzalez ran unattested during the primaries to claim the Republican nomination. While there aren’t many stances outlined on his Facebook page, which doubles as his campaign website, Gonzalez has made it clear that he is against any sort of vaccine mandate.
District 30
Robert Holden (Democrat)
Robert Holden, who first took over the District 30 City Council seat in 2018 after a surprise win in an intense election, is running unopposed this election. The City Council seat will remain his.
Although Holden’s most recent campaign website describes him as a “lifelong Democrat,” he has previously identified as being independent from both parties, and ran as a Republican in 2017. His recent campaign video describes his desire to “keep the streets safe.”
Throughout his time in City Council, Holden has made an effort to get City Council to repeal a decision to criminalize police chokeholds and also asked city council to create a committee dedicated to animal welfare. Earlier this year, he also voted against efforts to expand the number of street vendor permits in the city.
To see your full sample ballot, click here.
To find your polling location, click here.
Some reporting in this article was done by Andrew Karpan.
Featured Image: Official NYC Council Photo by William Alatriste
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