Robert Jackson Launches Campaign To Unseat State Senator Marisol Alcantara

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — After just a few months on the job, State Senator Marisol Alcantara is facing some pushback for aligning herself with the Independent Democratic Conference — a group of elected senate Democrats that occasionally side with senate Republicans, in turn giving the GOP a majority.

Days after a protest at Alcantara's Inwood district offices, 2016 runner up for the 31st Senate District Robert Jackson has announced he will be running to replace Alcantara in 2018, and he has some help. Third-place finisher in 2016 Micah Lasher is endorsing Jackson for the seat in order to create a coalition of voters dedicated to kick the IDC out of the 31st District — which spans Inwood, Washington Heights and parts of Harlem and the Upper West Side.

"It makes me sick to watch the Republicans in Washington and Albany repeatedly attacking our people, our progress and our protections," Jackson said in a statement. "Yet instead of uniting with us to resist this assault, our State Senator Marisol Alcantara -- elected as a Democrat to represent much of Upper Manhattan and the Upper West Side -- has turned on us by joining the IDC, a coalition that empowers Trump-supporting Albany Republicans and stymies efforts to pass truly progressive legislation."

Alcantara defeated both Jackson and Lasher in a closely-contested primary election last year before breezing past Republican candidate Melinda Crump, Conservative candidate John Toro and Green candidate Julia Willebrand.

During the primary election, Alcantara won 33.9 percent of the vote (8,157 votes) Jackson won 30.2 percent (7,267) and Lasher won 27.8 percent (6,698). Should the majority of Lasher voters switch to Jackson in 2018, Alcantara could be in serious trouble of winning reelection.

But if Alcantara is worried about a Jackson/Lasher coalition, she isn't showing it.

"Senator Alcantara has delivered progressive results for her constituents, including raising the age of criminal responsibility and securing $10m in funding for legal defense for immigrants facing deportation. The people who elected her made a judgment that the tired approach of her former opponents was wrong. She looks forward to a healthy debate on the issues affecting the people of her district, regardless of who enters the fray," former Alcantara campaign spokesman Lis Smith told Patch in a statement.

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