23 Jun 2025, 9:00 a.m.
2025 NYC Primary Election Recommendations
Last-minute recommendations for New York City's Democratic primary election. (Early voting concluded Sunday; tomorrow, Tuesday the 24th, is the final day to vote.)
I'm going to start with lesser-publicized races and move up the ballot.
My choices:
Judge of the Civil Court – Queens: Sheridan C. Chu
Judge of the Civil Court, District 2nd Municipal Court District – Queens: Eve Cho Guillergan
My reasons:
Chu and Cho Guillergan are reasonable picks -- they are lawyers who do some public service. Their opponents, Julie M. Milner and John J. Ciafone, have been judged by their fellow lawyers as less qualified -- the New York City Bar Association calls them "Not Approved" ("Approved" means "have affirmatively demonstrated qualifications necessary for the performance of the duties of the position"). Milner has a history of associating with Hiram Monserrate and of saying right-wing, anti-LGBT, anti-vaccine stuff in public. Ciafone was associated with a secretive neighborhood pressure campaign and, as a landlord, got fined almost $400,000 for advertising his law practice on buildings he owns.
Sources I used to research this include:
https://citylimits.org/who-are-those-judges-youll-see-on-the-new-york-primary-ballot/
https://citylimits.org/14-nyc-council-candidates-raised-100k-or-more-howd-they-do-it/
https://queenseagle.com/all/2025/3/5/queens-dems-pick-candidates-for-civil-court
https://queenseagle.com/all/tag/John+Ciafone
https://queenseagle.com/all/tag/Julie+Milner
https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/06/13/keep-mcguinness-moving-greenpoint-broadway-stages-gina-argento/
[Edited 24 June to add:] Another Western Queens judicial race is for Judge of the Civil Court - District 1st Municipal Court District - Queens.
The candidates are Thomas G. Wright-Fernandez and Juliette-Noor Haji. I didn't research this one myself, but friends did. Friends I know favor Juliette-Noor Haji because she is more progressive, campaigned for Zohran Mamdani, and is endorsed by JFREJ.
My choices: rank Justin Brannan #1 and Mark Levine #2.
My reasons:
Brannan got the Working Families Party endorsement, and seems less willing to support Cuomo if he wins the mayoral primary -- I'm very anti-Cuomo so that's important to me. And I'd need to dig into this more, but some folks I know think dimly of Levine's statements on the recent university campus protests.
But this was a really close decision. I liked Levine's more cautious and consultative policy approach better than Brannan's more aggressive demeanor in the debate I watched; for instance, I appreciated Levine's careful, technocratic answer regarding the proposal wherein every agency pays out lawsuit settlements from its own budget. And the fact that Brannan was against the congestion pricing proposal (though he switched his opinion after it succeeded) doesn't speak well of his foresight and judgment.
Ultimately I think neither of these is an obviously awful choice, although of course I may be wrong!
Those candidates are the 2 frontrunners and I didn't bother researching any of the others in this race.
Sources include:
https://social.coop/@brainwane/114659038844771337 my live reactions to the second comptroller candidates' debate
https://gothamist.com/news/in-final-debate-brannan-and-levine-seek-to-sway-the-undecideds
https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/10/comptroller-candidates-debate-brannan-levine-medicare-pension/
My choice: rank Jumaane Williams #1, don't rank anyone else.
My reasons:
Williams got the Working Families Party endorsement, he's criticized Mayor Eric Adams's wrongdoing and misplaced loyalties, and people I know think well of him and his work. And Jenifer Rajkumar's actions the past few months have been pretty unimpressive, and people I know think poorly of her and her campaign.
She originally started running for Comptroller in this election, then switched to running for Public Advocate. Those are pretty different jobs; what does she actually want to accomplish? And she's more of an Eric Adams supporter.
In April she went to a district other than the one she represents to participate in an anti-bike lane rally.
Recently her campaign has been sending eligible voters SMSes that include misleading smears against Williams. Well, one of her claims acts like it's a smear but it doesn't work: "He runs a remote office at a time when our City is in crisis." which sounds good to me -- a COVID-cautious employer who lets employees productively work from home!
Rajkumar says Williams "opposed a woman’s right to choose & was anti-LGBT rights" - yes, he used to oppose reproductive rights but now supports them; Planned Parenthood's political arm rates him 100%. Yes, he used to oppose marriage equality, then changed his mind; Stonewall Democratic Club (a group focusing on LGBT rights) endorses Williams. As a fact-check from 2019 notes, he apologized for his past positions.
Rajkumar says "He is a landlord who pushed out tenants." Williams owned 1392 E. 98th St. in Canarsie, and the New York Post reports that he was a neglectful landlord, his tenant withheld rent, Williams started eviction proceedings, Williams stopped making mortgage payments, and he lost the property in foreclosure. (The main sources I found for this are in the Post; websearching for [Jumaane Williams landlord] or the street address will turn up those articles.) Out of all the accusations, this feels the most solid, and particularly salient given that, as incumbent Public Advocate, he issued a Worst Landlords list. I don't like it! It does seem like a one-time wrong, though, not like he owns several residences and has done this multiple times, which is what Rajkumar's wording implies.
In 2009, Williams was arrested because of a domestic dispute, and denies there was any violence. Charges were dropped, the record was sealed, and his ex-girlfriend has declined to speak to the media about it. This gives me pause, but I have sought others' opinions and haven't found feminist organizations publicly saying that it causes them concern about Williams, so I'm using their judgment as a proxy for my own here.
Again, those candidates are the 2 frontrunners and I didn't bother researching any of the others in this race.
Sources include:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/06/12/opinion/jumaane-williams-nyt-interview.html
My choices:
#1: Zohran Mamdani
#2: Brad Lander
#3 and #4: Zellnor Myrie and Adrienne Adams
#5: Michael Blake
My reasons:
I really want to keep Andrew Cuomo (who does not even live here and who resigned the governorship in disgrace) from the mayor's office. Don't Rank Ex-Governor Andrew for Mayor. In this primary, Mamdani has the best chance of doing that. Lander, Myrie, and Adrienne Adams got WFP endorsement. Jessica Ramos did as well, but then endorsed Cuomo and thus erased a lot of her credibility; like many folks, I had been planning on ranking her, and replaced her with Blake given Blake's performance in a mayoral debate.
Sources include:
https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/06/endorsements-2025-new-york-city-mayoral-race/401606/
https://projects.thecity.nyc/meet-your-mayor-2025-election-quiz-candidates/
https://bettercities.substack.com/p/an-urbanist-nyc-voter-guide
https://gothamist.com/news/nyc-mayor-race-policy-issues-2025
https://www.reddit.com/r/NYCbike/comments/1jql71f/bikefriendly_candidates/
Well, we'll see (some races tomorrow night, some about three weeks from now). Here we go.