Harlem's 3 City Council Races: Where Things Stand

HARLEM, NY — With four weeks remaining until the June 22 primary elections, Harlem remains one of the busiest neighborhoods anywhere in the city, with three contested races playing out in different districts.

In West Harlem's District 7, 13 people are running to succeed longtime incumbent Mark Levine, who is term-limited.

In Central Harlem's District 9, incumbent Bill Perkins is running again but faces a tough challenge from a whopping 14 different contenders, who are hoping to unseat him amid accusations that he has been absent from the district in recent years.

And in District 8 in East Harlem, incumbent Diana Ayala is being challenged for a second term by Tamika Mapp, a state committeewoman, as well as Antoinette Glover and Manuel Onativia.

In the coming weeks, Patch will publish the results of question-and-answer forms sent to each candidate, shedding light on each person's policy priorities.

With no polling available for each race, it's impossible to know how the campaigns are faring. A look at fundraising, however, can provide some clues.

District 7 (West Harlem/Hamilton Heights)

Leading the money race in District 7 are Shaun Abreu, a tenants' rights attorney and former aide to Levine, and Marti Allen-Cummings, a drag artist and activist, who have both raised upwards of $240,000 in public and private funds.

Not far behind are Dan Cohen, an affordable housing developer; Stacy Lynch, a former City Hall official and civil rights advocate; and Maria Ordoñez, a community organizer.

Of the candidates with significant money raised, Luis Tejada, a community and immigrants' rights activist, is the only one whose donations have come mostly from inside the district — about 56 percent of his $24,694 in contributions have come from in-district residents.

District 9 (Central Harlem)

The incumbent Perkins, who jolted the race when he announced his re-election bid in March, has raised no money, leading many to believe he will attempt to win the election based mostly on name recognition.

His challengers have raised and spent heavily, with more than $360,000 in private contributions between them.

Leading the pack is Kristin Richardson Jordan, an author, poet and activist who has garnered more than $231,000 in public and private funds. The second- and third-highest fundraisers are Mario Rosser, a LinkedIn employee and former Youth advocate, and Cordell Cleare, a local Democratic leader and former Perkins aide.

Of the race's significant fundraisers, tenant leader and former police sergeant Ruth McDaniels has raised the highest percentage from within the district: more than 52 percent of her donors live inside District 9. Cleare is close behind, at about 49 percent.

District 8 (East Harlem)

In District 8, Ayala has far outraised her rival, amassing more than $214,000 in public and private funds compared to Mapp's $8,863 in private donations. (Glover and Onativia have not opened campaign accounts to raise money.)

Mapp's campaign, however, points out that fundraising isn't everything: Mapp also raised little money for her 2018 primary challenge to Assemblymember Robert Rodriguez, where she earned a strong 44 percent of the vote.

Harlem Patch will have ongoing coverage of the City Council race ahead of the June 22 primary, including candidate responses to the issues raised in our neighborhood survey.

The deadline to register to vote for the primary is May 28. Learn more here.