The process to fill Sheldon Silver's open Assembly seat was widely criticized because the Democratic nominee was actually chosen by party leaders as part of a special election earlier this year. Now, there is an open primary, and six candidates are vying for the seat, which is up for grabs yet again. NY1's Zack Fink filed the following report.
On Super Bowl Sunday earlier this year, Democratic committee members gathered on the Lower East Side and selected Alice Cancel as the Democratic nominee. She went on to win the special election on April 19, but since then, she has had difficulty raising money, even though she is an incumbent.
"You're right, I have not raised as much as my opponents," she said. "And again, I did it on April 19. I raised very little money. And I think I can do it again."
The 65th Assembly District covers Lower Manhattan, including Chinatown, the Lower East side and the Financial District. It was represented by Speaker Sheldon Silver for nearly 40 years.
The candidate hoping to pull Silver's voters this time is Paul Newell, who has focused on Silver's Jewish stronghold, the highrises of Grand Street.
"I do live on the Lower East Side. I believe I am the only candidate who lives on the Lower East Side. I think we expect to do extremely well here on Grand Street and the Lower East Side," Newell said.
Yuh-Line Niou had the Working Families party line in April but lost by roughly 700 votes to Cancel. She has that line again in November, but she also hopes it will give her a leg up in next month's Democratic primary.
"The AFL-CIO just endorsed a couple of days ago. I'm really excited about that. It was a unanimous vote. So, I am very proud to have that happen. And also, our dear Senator Daniel Squadron has endorsed," Niou said.
District leader Jenifer Rajkumar has raised the most money of any candidate.
"April was a closed-door process, and now the voters have a chance to decide. So in September, voters will decide at the ballot box," Rajkumar said. "This is true democracy. This is how it is supposed to be."
And Gigi Li chaired Community Board 3 in Chinatown.
"I also think it is very important to increase the representation in Albany both of women and particularly women of color," Li said. "I think three men in a room making decisions has been for too long."
Chinatown businessman Don Lee is the sixth candidate in the race. Insiders say three Asian candidates may splinter the Asian vote, which is 20 percent of the district.