Mayor Mamdani and Council Speaker Menin Square Off in Manhattan Special Election

A special election to fill the City Council seat vacated by Erik Bottcher is underway Tuesday, and the result is poised to tip the scales in the power struggle between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Council Speaker Julie Menin. The race, which covers the west side of Lower Manhattan, including the West Village and Chelsea, was called earlier this year after Mr. Bottcher won a special election in the state Senate. It has become one to watch, with four candidates drawing dueling endorsements from some of the city’s most influential figures.The field includes a former journalist and chairwoman of Community Board 4, Leslie Boghosia Murphy, and a district leader for Assembly District 75, Layla Law-Gisiko. But the race has effectively narrowed to the remaining candidates — a former chief of staff to Mr. Bottcher, Carl Wilson, and a former gubernatorial aide, Lindsey Boylan, who became the first woman to publicly accuse Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment.Ms. Menin has thrown her support behind Mr. Wilson, who has also secured endorsements from Mr. Bottcher, Representative Jerry Nadler, and City Comptroller Brad Lander. Mr. Mamdani backed Ms. Boylan, who helped organize opposition to Mr. Cuomo during the mayoral race. Ms. Boylan is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and she shares the mayor’s opposition to Israel.The contest has shaped up to be a proxy fight between Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Menin, who has emerged as the dominant moderate counterweight to the mayor’s socialist politics, clashing with him over taxation and the city budget. If elected, Ms. Boylan would enlarge the Council’s progressive bloc and weaken the chamber’s capacity to check Mr. Mamdani. The race is also likely to have direct consequences for Ms. Menin’s ability to override Mr. Mamdani’s recent veto of a bill to provide buffer zones around schools during protests. Mr. Wilson has said he would support an override while Ms. Boylan and Ms. Law-Gisiko both said that they would support the mayor’s veto. Ms. Menin needs to gain four votes to achieve a vet-proof majority.Though polls close at 9 p.m., Tuesday’s balloting may not produce an immediate winner. The election uses ranked-choice voting, and if no candidate clears 50 percent in the first round, a final result may not emerge for days.

Mayor Mamdani and Council Speaker Menin Square Off in Manhattan Special Election

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