How City Council District 9 campaigns are adjusting to Kristin Richardson Jordan dropping out

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New York City Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan might have announced she’s dropping her reelection bid in comic sans, but there’s nothing funny about it for her three opponents. Her Black radical socialist ally in the City Council, Charles Barron, shared his thoughts on the “damn shame” with City & State, but we also asked the other three District 9 campaigns in Harlem how this changes their strategy.

“Yusef Salaam is the candidate best positioned to coalesce her progressive support,” read a memo from his campaign this morning. Salaam now has the progressive, anti-establishment lane all to himself – which KRJ rode to victory with ranked-choice voting in 2021. And Salaam spokesperson Eric Koch noted there’s still time to get that message out in the field. Assembly Member Al Taylor’s consultant Albert Suh said their campaign remains the same, adding that he’s “always been the most active candidate in the community (and) his positions best reflect the community.” Does it make a difference for Assembly Member Inez Dickens? “Absolutely not. My strategy will remain the same,” said consultant Tyquana Henderson-Rivers. “Because in my view, a KRJ voter was not an Inez Dickens voter.”

She added that Dickens has been in office for more than 15 years and “her authenticity is unchallenged. She is who she is, it doesn’t matter who is in the race.”

Richardson Jordan leaving may not change much of the endorsement game for Dickens or Taylor either, since Henderson-Rivers noted that many typical mainstream endorsers who stayed out of this race weren’t necessarily doing so out of deference to KRJ, but because they didn’t want to pick between two sitting state Legislators. 

Richardson Jordan leaving may not change much of the endorsement game for Dickens or Taylor, since Henderson-Rivers noted that many typical mainstream endorsers who stayed out of this race weren’t necessarily doing so out of deference to KRJ, but because they didn’t want to pick between two sitting state legislators.