Final results show Selvena Brooke-Powers winning the city council seat, the first to win through ranked-choice voting. Pesach Osina came in second place. See full statements from both candidates below.
We wish Selvena Brooke-Powers much success in her hard-fought victory. We’re looking forward to seeing what she can accomplish. We also wanted to thank Pesach Osina for all he has done on behalf of the community until now, and he should continue to have much success ahead. We anticipate seeing where Pesach’s advocacy will take him.
Statement from #Powers4Queens pic.twitter.com/DTCJJjmK4j
— Selvena Brooks-Powers (@Powers4Queens) March 18, 2021
Selvena Brooks-Powers Wins District 31 Special Election
Brooks-Powers, who led in votes since Election Night, crossed the 50% threshold after the Board of Election finished the RCV reallocation process earlier today
QUEENS, N.Y. – The NYC Board of Elections, today, announced that Selvena Brooks-Powers is the winner in the special election for the 31st City Council seat in Queens. After leading the 9-candidate field with 38% of the vote on Election Day on February 23rd, Brooks-Powers added to her lead during the absentee process and today crossed the 50% threshold during the reallocation of votes under the Ranked Choice Voting system. This is the first time the Ranked Choice Voting system has been used to
determine the winner of a Council race since the program was approved by voters in 2019.
“I am honored to be elected by the residents of the 31st City Council District in Southeast Queens. I
stand on the shoulders of the leaders that have come before me, but especially that of Juanita Watkins,
the first woman of color to serve a NYC Council district and the only woman to have ever served the 31st District – almost 20 years ago
“Running for office takes commitment and drive, and I wish the best for the other candidates. I remain thankful to everyone who supported me during the campaign – my family, friends, mentors, faith based leaders, community leaders, and brothers and sisters in labor.
“We are in the midst of a tremendously challenging time, and the 31st District has been one of the hardest hit. I understand the gravity of the next few months and am ready to hit the ground running to begin immediately delivering for the district. In the last 20 years, we faced 9/11, Flight 587, Superstorm Sandy, the 2008 economic crisis, and now the Covid-19 pandemic. Our community is resilient and we will recover from this pandemic and come back stronger. I will work tirelessly to ensure we get our fair share of support, resources, and respect from City Hall.”
Statement by candidate Pesach Osina regarding the unofficial Ranked Choice Voting results for the Queens City Council District 31 Special Election pic.twitter.com/mIufhZTmPD
— Pesach Osina (@PesachOsina) March 18, 2021
For Immediate Release March 18, 2021, 11:
Contact:Michael Lambert Campaign Manager [email protected]
Statement by candidate Pesach Osina regarding the unofficial Ranked Choice Voting results for the Queens City Council District 31 Special Election
Queens City Council District 31 is and will always be my home.
I want to first thank my family for supporting my run for office as this takes a lot of patience and understanding. I want to thank everyone who believed in me and supported my candidacy by voting for me, by volunteering for my campaign, and would also like to thank my staff who assisted me run a great campaign. I am grateful and extremely humbled by each and every one of you.
We ran a great campaign, but the voters of Queens’ 31st Council District have exercised their right, and have used the power of their votes, their ranked choice votes…and they have spoken.
I congratulate Selvena Brooks-Powers on her victory as the next person to represent our community in the New York City Council. I wish her the best as we need to come together as a community given the many challenges ahead.
I will meet with my advisors as we map out the next steps defining what the future holds as we continue our mission to build bridges throughout all communities. Again, thank you all and see you soon.
www.pesachosina.com
Good try, Pesach, but you were never going to beat a person of color in the FR community. Just demographics.