Manhattan Progressives Celebrate after Big Wins

On a strong Tuesday night for national Democrats, Manhattan progressives won big as well.

Brad Hoylman-Sigal was elected Manhattan borough president, and Alvin Bragg was re-elected Manhattan district attorney, both in lopsided races. The two celebrated with an election watch party in Central Harlem.

The New York Post had editorialized early in the election cycle that Bragg might struggle, calling it a “winnable race for Republicans” when former criminal prosecutor Maud Maron (and Democrat turned Republican) entered the race last year. But that was far from the case on Nov. 4.

“It’s a landslide,” Bragg’s campaign manager, Richard Fife, said. “I mean, 70-20, it’s the definition of a landslide.”

Both Bragg and Hoylman-Sigal were declared winners within 45 minutes of the polls closing. “I love democracy!” Bragg said during his victory speech, before lifting up a copy of the Post to cite lower gun violence and crime stats. Bragg had won 73.9 percent of the electorate at the time of writing, earning 358,925 votes in total. Republican challenger Maud Maron received just over 20 percent (20.6). A third challenger, Diana Florence, a lifelong Democrat running on the Safer Manhattan party, received 5.5 percent (26,857). Both of the former Democrats criticized Bragg as being soft on crime.

Hoylman-Sigal won by an even larger margin, receiving 385,939 votes and 80.8 percent of the electorate to become the first openly gay borough president in city history.

“Being the first LGBTQ borough president, I think, is important for representation so that young queer kids who are interested in public service know that the sky’s the limit,” Hoylman-Sigal told Gay City News.

There was an impressive mix of young and old voters at the watch party. The lively confines of Harlem Tavern certainly helped, as residents danced to Kendrick Lamar and A Tribe Called Quest.

A cheer went up around the venue after the mayor’s race was called for state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

Hoylman-Sigal endorsed Mamdani in June following Mamdani’s surprise win in the Democratic primary. Bragg did not back a mayoral candidate but said he was “excited to work with this coming administration on safety and fairness.”

Asked if he had legislative targets for his next term, Bragg said he hoped to assign bill S349B/A1940A, which would eliminate New York’s five-year statute of limitations for sex-trafficking charges, and S227A/A1777A, which introduces misdemeanor charges for those sharing blueprints for building 3D-printable firearms.

“We’re going to continue to use our white-collar practice to address street crimes and money laundering,” he added. “We’re going to continue, obviously, focusing on shootings, and we’re really going to try to double down on mental health intervention.”

Upper West Side Council member Gale Brewer made an appearance at the watch party. Brewer had been quietly re-elected to her seat after running unopposed.

“I keep it low-key,” she said.

She expressed excitement about the victories for Democrats in-state and nationwide.

“It gives us more hope for advocacy when there is a sitting national issue. It puts Trump and the feds on alert,” she said. “It’s more than hope, it’s a stick.”