Vito Lopez, the Brooklyn kingmaker whose sex scandals led to his resignation from the State Assembly, lost his bid for City Council yesterday, perhaps finally ending his long, turbulent political career.
Lopez lost to 30-year-old Antonio Reynoso, the chief of staff of former Lopez ally Diana Reyna, who distanced herself from Lopez after he began making massive concessions to the Hasidic vote to remain in power. Reynoso won with 49 percent of the vote and becomes the new councilman for a heavily Hispanic district that includes parts of Bushwick, Ridgewood, and Williamsburg.
“The primary was a referendum to see that the resources the community needs are maximized,” Reynoso told the New York Times after learning of his victory.
Reynoso ran a campaign that emphasized Lopez's inability to legislate effectively following his embarrassing and high-profile harassment scandal. Still, Lopez was running on his years of service to the community, which included building a strong social safety net for the elderly as well as significant improvements in housing.
Voters felt that it was Lopez's time to go, however. Alas, there will be no more abuse of female staffers, no more pressuing them to wear revealing outfits or asking them to massage his tumors. Sometimes it takes a few stakes for a political vampire to finally fade away, but this actually might be the end for Gropez.
