Politics & Government
BK City Council District 39 Race: Shahana Hanif Takes Early Lead
Hanif's lead is based only on people's first choices, and only for votes cast in person. Final results could take weeks.
PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN —Former City Council staffer Shahana Hanif took an early lead as the first-choice, in-person votes roll in for Brooklyn's 39th District City Council primary race, according to election night results.
As with most races in the June 22 primary, official winners will not be declared Tuesday given the new ranked-choice voting system, but first-choice, in-person picks have been tallied for some races.
In the 39th District — which spans Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, the Columbia Waterfront District, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park and Kensington — former Council Member Brad Lander staffer Shahana Hanif held an early lead as all in-person, first-choice votes came in.
Find out what's happening in Park Slopefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
She held 33 percent of the vote as of 11 p.m., according to NY1, where 100 percent of precincts had been reported.
In second was former city budget analyst Brandon West, who had 22 percent of the vote as of 11 p.m. Local organizer Justin Krebs was in third with 15 percent of the vote.
Find out what's happening in Park Slopefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In all, there were seven candidates on the ballot to replace term-limited Council Member Brad Lander, who is looking to become the city's next comptroller.
The other candidates include: former cab driver and activist Mamnun Haq, United Federation of Teachers staffer Briget Rein, civil rights attorney Douglas Schneider and local teacher Jessica Simmons.
In term of funding, the race remained tight between several of the candidates up until primary day. All candidates except Simmons had qualified for or close to the maximum amount of public funding as of their last filing with the city's Campaign Finance Board.
In a slight lead was Hanif, who had raised nearly $253,000 in combined private and public money. Rein was not far behind with nearly $249,000 in combined funds, the records show.
Insight into where the candidates stand on local issues brought up in a Patch neighborhood survey — including public transit, schools, street safety and increasing rents — can be found here.
All seven candidates also filled out a Patch questionnaire:
Find a full list of races NYC Patch is following here.
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