Be more clear about council races

To the editor:

(re: “Petitioning during COVID forces two out of race,” Jan. 7)

On Jan. 4, The Riverdale Press reported that Mayor de Blasio had called a special election to determine who will fill our vacant city council seat for the 10 months between March and December.

One day later, on Jan. 5, Riverdale resident Abigail Martin issued a statement, letting supporters and community members know she would not be running in that election. She affirmed, however, she was still a candidate for the upcoming Democratic Party primary in June.

That election will determine which Democrat will run to represent our district for a full term on the city council next year, when the city’s new mayor enters office, and when most city council seats will have new members.

In total, our community will hold three separate city council elections in the next 11 months. It’s important for voters to understand what each of these elections is for, and that the list of candidates for each of these elections will be different.

Saying that a candidate “dropped out” of one of these three elections might make for an exciting headline, but it seems difficult to “drop out” of an election that was just called a day earlier, and when the candidate is still very much in the race in another.

I encourage The Riverdale Press to continue to engage its readers, and to clarify the various elections ahead of us — especially when there is so much at stake for the future of our community and city.

Stephen Friedmann

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