City Council Primaries June 27: What Brooklyn needs to know

WHAT IS THE CITY COUNCIL PRIMARY ELECTION, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

The primaries are the way that voters choose who represents their party in the New York City Council’s general election, which occurs on November 7, 2023. The winner of the primary elections runs on the party ticket for that district on November 7: it’s like choosing which Democrat or Republican you’d like to see in the citywide legislature, of course, depending on your registration and the results of the general election in November. 

The primaries are important for many reasons, but Brooklyn remains heavily affiliated with the Democratic Party, so voting in the primary delivers the public a choice between Democratic candidates. Yet, many neighborhoods in Brooklyn tend to elect Republican and Conservative Party councilmembers, and it’s important those voters voice their preference among that field of candidates as well. Not all districts have primaries for all parties, and whether or not you can vote in the primary is tentative to your party registration.

The city council recently redrew maps for the elections to adjust for population shifts accounted for during the 2023 census. Many city council districts in Brooklyn (33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 45, 49 and 50) remain uncontested because there is no challenger to the Republican or Democratic incumbent (or sitting) city council representative.

 City council primaries operate on a ranked choice voting system, meaning that voters list candidates in order of preference on the ballot.

IMPORTANT BROOKLYN PRIMARIES ON JUNE 27

CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 34: WILLIAMSBURG, BUSHWICK, AND RIDGEWOOD, QUEENS

 CANDIDATES

 Jennifer Gutierrez

Here’s where Jennifer Gutierrez stands on important issues, according to NYC votes.org:

CRIME

“We need to focus on getting guns out of the hands of our children, and increase funding for…