In the New York primary, the Democrats face a wave of challengers from the right
When Melinda Katz ran for Attorney General of Queens in 2019, her main opponent in the Democratic primary was a public defender and Democratic socialist with a platform to end cash bail and ultimately abolish the police force.
With support from progressive prosecutors across the country — as well as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — Tiffany Cabán, a first-time candidate, lost by fewer than 60 votes after portraying Ms. Katz as a regressive Democrat.
Four years later, Ms. Katz’s strongest challenge comes from George Grasso, an adversary who runs right accusing her of being soft-spoken in crime.
It’s not the only game in the city where moderate Democrats will face opponents on the right in Tuesday’s primaries. In several city council races, from the Bronx to southern Brooklyn, moderate Democrats are challenged over public safety, affordable housing and education by more conservative members of their own party.
“It’s really rare that so many challengers run to the right of the incumbent Democrat in this primary election season,” said Trip Yang, a Democratic adviser working on Stanley Ng’s campaign, who runs to the right of the front. runner in the 43rd Council District in south Brooklyn. “Primary challengers to incumbent Democrats usually run from the left or make a generational argument that it’s time for new leadership.”
In the Bronx, Alderman Marjorie Velázquez, who ran as a Progressive candidate in 2021, faces two such challengers who have criticized her support for a plan to repurposing Bruckner Boulevard in Throg’s Neck. In Lower Manhattan, Councilman Chris Marte is taking on opponents who accuse him of trying to “defund” the police, which he denies.
A Queens councilman, Linda Lee, representing Bayside faces more conservative challengers. In Harlem, three moderate candidates are running to replace Kristin Richardson Jordan, a Democratic socialist who dropped out. And in the newly elected 43rd Council District, the three Asian-American Democrats running in the top spot named public safety and education as their top two issues.
Some see the trend as linked in part to demographic shifts of immigrants being more conservative on two counts: public safety, especially after a spate of attacks on Asian Americans during the pandemic, and education, where progressives have supported changes to entrance exams for specialty colleges. schools with a large Asian American enrollment.
Between 2010 and 2020, New York City’s population grew by more than 629,000, according to a report from the CUNY Research Consortium on Communities of Interest. More than half of that increase was due to net Asian population growth, including 43 percent growth in Brooklyn and the Bronx.
Asian American voters have shifted to the right in recent elections. In last year’s race for governor, most Asian districts remained Democratic, but moved 23 points to the right from the 2018 election, according to an analysis by The New York Times.
Yiatin Chu, president of the Asian Wave Alliance, said Republican candidates are aligning themselves with positions that many Asian immigrants value, and she says Democrats have misunderstood. Others say the Democrats have made themselves vulnerable by not articulating their positions effectively.
“What elected official doesn’t care about public safety?” said Councilman Justin Brannan, a Democrat who represents Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and will likely face a strong Republican challenge in the general election. “But because we’ve allowed the right to paint us with this broad brush that we all want to do away with law enforcement, the Democrats now feel compelled to lead with that.”
He supports Wai Yee Chan, the executive director of Homecrest Community Services, in the 43rd Council District Democratic Primary. She competes against Mr. Ng and Susan Zhuang, Councilman William Colton’s chief of staff.
Sensing a threat from the right, Future NYC, a pro-business super PAC; Labor Strong, a coalition of the city’s most powerful unions; and the New York City District Council of Carpenters funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars for on-site advertising and support to help several moderate candidates.
Future NYC recently committed to spending about $500,000 to support Ms. Velázquez and Ms. Lee, said Jeff Leb, the group’s treasurer.
Ms. Velázquez was one of 15 people who left the city council’s Progressive Caucus in February after it asked members to agree to a statement of principles that included less money for the police. She was recently endorsed by the Conservative Police Benevolent Association. Yet her challengers have criticized Ms. Velázquez as too far-left, citing her support for the repurposing of Bruckner Boulevard that would provide affordable housing.
One of them, Bernadette Ferrara, chairwoman of Bronx Community Board 11, said during a recent debate: “I’m not going to allow a weak and awake progressive like Marjorie Velázquez to destroy a lifetime of work by cramming the East Bronx with high density, low-income housing.” .
Ms Velázquez said she had changed her mind and decided to support the repurposing of Bruckner Boulevard, where new buildings will range from three to eight stories, as it would provide jobs and housing for older residents and families. The first Latina to represent her district said voters assume she is farther left than she actually is.
“I heard you’re a socialist because you’re like AOC, and it’s like, no, I’m not,” Ms. Velázquez said, referring to Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic socialist. “I’m a moderate.”
In Manhattan, Mr. Marte, who considers himself a progressive, said he has no intention of leaving the council meeting, characterizing his opponents as more equal than their comments suggested.
All three of Mr. Marte’s challengers — Susan Lee, a consultant, Ursila Jung, a private investor, and Pooi Stewart, a substitute teacher — cited public safety as their top issue in the New York City voting guide.
In a debate on NY 1, Susan Lee cited hate crimes against Asian Americans as a top public safety priority.
And in the same debate, Ms. Jung defended her position saying, “You could argue that the numbers are falling, but a lot of public safety is perception.”
Ms. Chu’s group backed George Grasso over Ms. Katz and ranked Susan Lee and Ms. Jung as their first two picks in the race against Mr. Marte. The group did not rank Ms. Chan in District 43 in Brooklyn and chose Ms. Zhuang and Mr. Ng as their first and second choices.
The Asian-American winner of the District 43 Democratic primary will face Vito J. LaBella, a former police officer turned conservative Republican, in what is expected to be a competitive general election. Mr. LaBella lost a narrow election to the Senate last year by about 200 votes. He is running against senior executive Ying Tan in the Republican primary.
Ms. Chu said many in her group are wary of “identity politics” and would have no problem voting for Mr. LaBella in the general election.
In the D.A.’s race, Mrs. Katz has seizures from Mr. Grasso, a former administrative judge and former Deputy Commissioner of Police, on her approach to crime.
“I think people all over the city, and in Queens in particular, have a nagging feeling that they just don’t feel as safe as they did a few years ago, and they don’t see the political leaders reacting in an assertive way.” Mr Grasso said in an interview.
Ms. Katz has been supported by Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul, both moderates. During her first term, she said she focused on taking out gangs, gun seizures and shoplifting. She accused her opponent of “cherry-picking” crime data and Courting Republicans.
“His claims,” said Ms. Katz, “are ridiculous.”
Emma G. Fitzsimmons reporting contributed.