Voters in certain City Council districts showed incumbents that they weren't happy with them, by voting out an unusually high number of Council members in yesterday's primary election. Why? A combination of voting for term limits plus other scandals. For instance, Alan Gerson (D-Manhattan), Kendall Stewart (D-Brooklyn), and Helen Sears (D- Queens) all supported the term limits extension—and all lost to challengers.
The Post points out that Stewart "was also badly hurt by his staff's role in the slush-fund scandal: two of his aides were indicted for allegedly embezzling nearly $200,000 in taxpayer money last year." (That could do it!) Stewart lost to community organizer Jumaane Williams; Gerson lost to immigration activist Margaret Chin (the Daily News notes she'll be the first Chinese Council member to represent Chinatown) while Sears lost to Daniel Dromm, a gay schoolteacher.
Debi Rose defeated Council member Kenneth Mitchell in the Democratic primary in Staten Island's North Shore. If she wins, she'll be Staten Island's first black Council member—but Mitchell will be on the ballot in November, on the conservative party line. And in the Bronx, challenger Fernando Cabrera has a slight lead—around 90-100 votes—over incumbent Maria Baez, who notably missed about half the Council meetings.
