Up Close With NYC’s Mayoral Candidates: Rounding out the Field
Beyond the leading candidates, there are a slew of other politicians running to become for New York City’s next mayor.
According to “NYCVotes.org,” there are 25 men and women in the race for Gracie Mansion. There seem to be even a few more than are not registered with the NYC Campaign Finance Board. Which candidates a voter will see on the September 10 primary ballot depends on an individual’s party registration, but there are sure to be a lot of names. Here are some short profiles on the remaining candidates to keep you from getting overwhelmed at the polls.
Sal Albanese (Democrat)
Albanese was a New York City public school teacher for 11 years before becoming a City Council member in 1982. He left the Council for an unsuccessful run for the Mayor’s office in 1997. He’s focusing a lot on education, to no surprise, as well as public safety and transportation—where he wants tolls on bridges to vary based on the time of day. He’s making big claims of political independence in his campaign, refusing “contributions from registered lobbyists, developers, and special interests.”
Ceceilia J Berkowitz (Democrat)
Berkowitz is a business consultant as well as professor at St. Peter’s University in New Jersey. She touts a friendship with Mayor Bloomberg and a focus on education.
Randy Credico (Democrat)
Stand-up comedian Credico is also a long-time political activist for racial justice. On the campaign trail, Credico’s been known for his Occupy Wall Street-style activism and near-constant jokes. He’s running on a very liberal platform, vowing to end stop and frisk, jail certain Wall Street bankers, and make the subways and busses free for all NYC residents. He says a tax on Wall Street would pay for all that, and even a ½ percent tax would double the city’s revenue.
Hilda K Broady-Fernandez (Independent)
Ms. Broady-Fernandez founded “A Different Approach” bowling programs that “empowers youth through bowling.” She’s running on a platform of “The Five E’s:” “Equality, Education, Employment, Economic Empowerment.”
Adolfo Carrión Jr. (Independence Party)
The former Bronx Borough President, Carrión has left the Democratic Party for the Independence Party. The party’s endorsed him, so he’s already guaranteed a spot on ballot in the November general election. Carrión served various political positions after starting out as a NYC public school teacher. He was a community board member, a City Council member, the Bronx Borough President, and served various Urban Affairs and HUD positions in the Obama administration. He’s running a policy-focused campaign with emphases on education and affordability.
Dan B Fein (Socialist Workers Party)
Fein ran for Mayor in 2009 describing himself to the New York Times as “not a candidate for New Yorkers; I’m a candidate for workers of the world.” He’s calling for a public works jobs program, and recently made a trip to Cairo to meet with Egyptian protestors.
Kevin A Finnegan (Working Families Party)
Finnegan is merely a place-holder candidate for the labor-oriented Working Families Party. According to Crain’s the political director of powerful health care workers’ union 1199 SEIU plans to concede his November ballot line to the winner of the September Democratic primary.
Neil V Grimaldi (Democrat)
Grimaldi is a lawyer and Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx. He’s run for office in the past under his given name, Aniello Grimaldi. His campaign website’s down, but an archived version from the Room Gate blog says he’s also an ordained non-denominational reverend, a former journalist, and once ran for Congress on the platform of establishing a US Department of Peace.
Anthony B Gronowicz (Green Party)
Five-time candidate Gronowicz is once again running for Mayor on the Green Party ballot line, just as he did in 2005. Gronowicz holds a Ph.D in New York City political history and is running a liberal campaign supporting unconditional healthcare and a living wage. For those, he says New Yorkers need to “live, work, and play” in a “sustainable environment.”
Jack D. Hidary (Independent)
Tech entrepreneur Hidary joined the race late, in mid-July, but has made a decent splash. Called “extremely tech-savvy” and small business focused, he’s running for Mayor on the self-created ballot line of the ”Jobs and Education Party.”
Walter N Iwachiw (Republican)
Iwachiw is a nursing student and software creator according to the Daily News. He filed a claim with the City for $1.6 Billion in damages after Superstorm Sandy, saying that’s the amount that his storm-damaged business proposals could have made, according to the same Daily News article. In his campaign website he focuses on NYC’s sea level, 9-11 first responders, and putting the MTA under mayoral control.
Abiodun Laurel-Smith (Independent)
“Smithie” as he goes by is “an artist, a script writer, a heritage manager, and above all a New Yorker with no affiliation to any political party or swing group.” He wants to update the legal system for the digital age, and get guns and illegal drugs off the streets.
He G Lee
Lee is an active Queens-based architect focusing mostly on church-design. Lee says he’ll bring his experience as an architect to City Hall to work on making buildings more cost-efficient and to improve the city’s transportation system.
George T McDonald (Republican)
McDonald is the founder of the Doe Fund, a group that trains and employs the poor—you may have seen workers around the city in “Ready, Willing and Able” vests. Unsurprisingly, his campaign is focused on full employment for city residents, calling it “the answer to multiple problems in our city,” and saying he would “focus on that like a laser beam.”
James E McMillan (Independent)
“Jimmy Mack” gained internet notoriety during the 2010 New York gubernatorial election as a candidate for the “Rent is Too Damn High Party,” but he’s been a perennial candidate for various offices. He believes lowering rent will reduce hunger and poverty and create millions of jobs.
Joseph G Melaragno (Independent)
Melarango is running for mayor on a platform of affordability. He says renting, starting a business, and paying taxes in New York City is all too expensive. His website has no biographical information.
Carl E Person (Reform Party)
Person is a longtime leader and, as founder of the Paralegal Institute, “founder of the paralegal career field.” As candidate for the Reform Party, he’s strongly against political corruption, and wants to install a 1-year information technologies training program for seniors and adults through NYC high schools.
Cardon L Pompey
Pompey is registered with the Campaign Finance Board, but little information seems to be available to the public.
Erick J Salgado (Democrat)
Salgado is an active Evangelical Christian minister and former President of a radio ministry. He touts small business experience working in an auto body shop and a strong understanding of the New York City Latino community.
Michael Sanchez (Libertarian)
As former political director of the Brooklyn Libertarian Party, Sanchez takes small government seriously. Before running for Mayor, he was running for Brooklyn Borough President on a platform of eliminating the position. He is against stop-and-frisk and very supportive of charter schools.
Other Candidates:
