Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Brandon West

Brandon West

  • In Brooklyn Political Launching Pad, Another Highly Competitive Council Race

    cm brad sl join gowanus

    Activists, Council Member Brad Lander & others (photo: John McCarten.City Council)


    With voting underway in this month’s primary elections, including for almost all 51 City Council seats, including about three dozen that are “open” due to term limits, crowded fields of candidates are pushing for every vote.

    The competition is especially hot, if civil, in Brooklyn’s 39th City Council District, one of the most politically-active areas in the city, with some of the highest voter turnout rates, and the home district of Mayor Bill de

    ...
  • Ranked-Choice Voting is Not 'Political Gentrification,' It’s Opportunity

    voting nyc kids parents

    Voting in New York City (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    New York City, just like the nation, has been teetering at a crossroads. We’ve been utterly battered by the pandemic and ensuing economic depression. And much like the nation, we’ve been saddled with a do-nothing leader who has lionized the NYPD instead of holding them accountable. January 1, 2022 can’t come soon enough. Never has it been more important for every single voice to be heard.

    Fortunately, New Yorkers will have a new way to vote next year which puts power back in the

    ...
  • New York Leftists Strategize for the Post-Trump Era

    Julia Salazar Albany

    State Senator Julia Salazar with activists (photo: NY Senate)


    For four years, moderate and progressive Democrats, a number of independents, and even some Republicans have shared a common objective: ensure Donald Trump is a one-term president.

    Now, with that objective accomplished and a moderate Democrat in Joe Biden set to enter the White House in January, leftists are ready to go all out, at the federal and local levels, to pull the party further leftward and accomplish goals like taxing the wealthy and defunding the police so that they can pass

    ...