Roses for Clarke, Consolation for Yassky

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The New York Sun

With a bouquet of yellow roses beside her, Council Member Yvette Clarke yesterday sat in the third row of the City Council chamber, beaming as she accepted hugs and kisses from her colleagues. In the same row but across the aisle sat Council Member David Yassky. There were no flowers, and many of the same colleagues who congratulated Ms. Clarke offered only consolation.

On the day after Ms. Clarke defeated Mr. Yassky in a hotly contested race for Congress in Brooklyn, both lawmakers trekked back to work, casting votes to override a mayoral veto and to approve several land-use changes.

Perhaps sensing that their presence was dominating the council meeting — the din of chatting lawmakers was even louder than usual — Ms. Clarke and Mr. Yassky each departed shortly after voting.

Before the meeting, a tired Mr. Yassky said he was disappointed but not surprised by his loss. “I expected it to be a close race, and it was,” he said outside City Hall.

Ms. Clarke on Tuesday won the Democratic primary in Brooklyn’s 11th district with 31% of the vote, to Mr. Yassky’s 26%. State Senator Carl Andrews took 23%, and Christopher Owens, son of the incumbent, Rep. Major Owens, had 20%.

Ms. Yassky did not initially concede the race Tuesday night, telling supporters that he would wait until every vote was counted. He finally called Ms. Clarke to congratulate her and offer his support early yesterday morning, he said.

As the only white candidate running in a district that is 59% black, Mr. Yassky lost despite raising more money than all three of his opponents combined. Ms. Clarke received key endorsements from two powerful health worker unions that observers said likely swung the race to her.

Mr. Yassky said he had not done a “postmortem” on the campaign, but he would not attribute his loss to the issue of race.

“I don’t think it was one thing,” he said. “The unions played a role. Her base of support in her council district was very strong.

“At the end of the day, the voters made their choice,” Mr. Yassky said

He said he had not yet contemplated future races. “I gave thought to getting myself out of bed, after an exhausting week, to make sure I could get to work on time today,” he said.

While not specifically citing the race issue, Ms. Clarke said her familiarity in the district was key to her victory. “I had established relationships in the congressional district, and that’s something that you don’t gain overnight,” she said in an interview.

During the campaign, Ms. Clarke was forced to admit that she did not actually graduate from Oberlin College, as she had indicated in city records. Asked if she planned to complete her degree before heading to Congress, she said, “I absolutely am going to pursue my education, probably further than I could have imagined.” She added, “We’d like to see that happen as soon as possible.”

Ms. Clarke and Mr. Yassky were not the only council members involved in primary races on Tuesday. Council Member Charles Barron of Brooklyn was jubilant yesterday, despite losing in his bid to unseat Rep. Edolphus Towns in the 10th district. Mr. Barron said it was a “big victory” that he lost to Mr. Towns by only nine points, and pledged to defeat him in 2008. “You’re looking at the next congressman from the 10th district,” he said.

Council Member Hiram Monserrate had not conceded his race for state Senate in the 13th district in Queens, where he challenged the incumbent Democrat, John Sabini. Mr. Monserrate trailed by just 208 votes and said yesterday he was waiting for absentee ballots to be counted.


The New York Sun

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