Upper West Side Council Race: Who Will Replace Helen Rosenthal?

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — For the first time since 2013, Upper West Side residents will have somebody other than Helen Rosenthal representing them in City Council.

In 2021, there is a field of six candidates running in the 6th District, which covers the entirety of the Upper West Side.

The candidates range from the Manhattan Borough President, to Upper West Side community board members, to a screenwriter that has spent his entire life in the neighborhood.

Three of the six candidates have raised over $10,000 in campaign funds — two of which have raised over $40,000.

Here's more information about the six candidates.

Zach Weiner

• Private Money Raised: $2,236
• Public Money Raised: $0
• Money Spent: $6,616
• Weiner is an Upper West Side native who has spent his career as a screenwriter, actor and film producer. His website states that he's ready to address the "two biggest issues" District 6 faces, quality of life for all and empty storefronts.

Gale Brewer

• Private Money Raised: $2,916
• Public Money Raised: 0
• Money Spent: 0
• Brewer is the one household name in the Upper West Side City Council race. The current Manhattan Borough President actually held the same City Council seat from 2002 to 2013. Brewer has long been a well-liked politician in Manhattan, building her reputation on the busy schedule she keeps throughout the year.

Maria Dianzilo

• Private Money Raised: $0
• Public Money Raised: $0
• Money Spent: $0
• Dianzilo is a lifelong New Yorker who has lived on the Upper West Side for the past four decades working as a lawyer. She is "committed to returning District 6 to the safe, clean, secure and thriving neighborhood we all love."

David Gold

• Private Money Raised: $10,263
• Public Money Raised: $0
• Money Spent: $1,622
• Gold is a native Upper West Sider who works as a lawyer and runs a non-profit called Democratism, which "seeks to make our federal election system more democratic." He names economic inequality, racial segregation, environmental degradation, and the inadequacies of local housing, schooling, and transit.

Sara Lind

• Private Money Raised: $46,618
• Public Money Raised: $120,179
• Money Spent: $53,318
• Lind, who is leading the way in fundraising for the race, is an active participant in the world of Upper West Side politics. Among other positions, she is a member of Community Board 7, the chair of the Broadway Task Force and a member of West Side Democrats. She is an Upper West Side resident and says her vision is "to lead the change in making NYC a truly 21st-century city."

Jeffrey Omura

• Private Money Raised: $40,957
• Public Money Raised: $0
• Money Spent: $12,396
• Omura is an actor, activist, and labor leader who first moved to New York City to perform in Shakespeare in the Park. He would go on to help organize NYC actors in demanding fair pay, which soon helped him get elected to the board of the Actors' Equity Association. Omura would be the first openly gay person elected to the District 6 Council seat.