(l-r) top: Samar Khurshid, David Brand, Soma Syed; middle: Dilip Nath, James Gennaro, Deepti Sharma; bottom: Neeta Jain, Moumita Ahmed

Six candidates running in the special election for City Council District 24 in eastern Queens met for a debate on January 26 hosted by Gotham Gazette, Queens Eagle, and Citizens Union Foundation. The special election to replace Rory Lancman, who stepped down to take a position in the Cuomo administration, is ongoing, with early voting January 23-31 and election day on February

Voters voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

New York City’s first ranked-choice election is underway in Queens. The crowded and competitive special election to replace former City Council Member Rory Lancman, who resigned for a position in the Cuomo administration, saw early voting begin this past Saturday. It will run through January 31, followed by election day on February 2.

While it is the city’s first election using ranked-choice voting, which took effect this year after being approved by voters in 2019 and only applies

Shelley Mayer (photo: @Shelley4Senate)

The Democratic conference in the New York State Senate will soon be one seat shy of a majority. After special election wins Tuesday night to fill two vacant Senate seats, both previously held by Democrats, the party will soon have 31 members in the 63-seat chamber. Shelley Mayer has won in Senate District 37, in Westchester, and Luis Sepulveda has won in Senate District 32, in the Bronx. Both are currently members of the Assembly, seats they will vacate to move to the Senate.

Democrats hold an overwhelming majority in

Gov. Cuomo and John Flanagan, right (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)

As the legislative session kicks off this week, there are a slew of open state Senate and Assembly seats, and Governor Andrew Cuomo has not indicated when or whether he will call a special election to fill the vacancies.

January 1 was the earliest the second-term governor could have called the election day to fill all 11 vacancies, and a growing number of critics are pressuring Cuomo to make the pronouncement as soon as possible. The election

Charles Youn, executive director of KALCA, speaks at a press conference

Any good democracy should reflect a society’s diversity in its leadership. The undemocratic way in which the 65th Assembly District special election is unfolding should galvanize all communities, particularly underrepresented ones, to push for reforms and encourage underrepresented New Yorkers to be more civically engaged.

America does not always have accurate and inclusive representation in government. This is especially true in state legislatures. A few weeks ago...

Rafael Salamanca meets voters before Tuesday's election (via @JohnJrBX)

Residents of District 17 in the Bronx will vote for a new City Council Member on Tuesday in a special election to fill the vacancy left by former Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, who resigned and the end of last year. As with all special elections for the City Council not held on regularly scheduled election days, it is a nonpartisan contest, meaning no candidate will appear on the major party ballot lines. Instead,

CMs Weprin, left, & Ignizio, right, are both leaving the Council (photo: William Alatriste)

City Council member Mark Weprin, a Democrat who represents part of Queens, announced on Monday that he will step down from his seat to join Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration as Deputy Secretary of Legislative Affairs, making him ...