Shahana Hanif Wins Brooklyn's 39th District City Council Race

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Ranked-choice voting results and a newly-released count of absentee ballots has cemented Shahana Hanif as the winner in Brooklyn's 39th District City Council race.

Hanif, who held a 10-point lead on election night, was left with a more than 3,900-vote lead over second-place candidate Brandon West in the updated final round of ranked-choice voting, which eliminated the other five Democratic primary candidates after six rounds. She held 57 percent of the vote, while West earned 43 percent, numbers show.

NY1 called the race for Hanif shortly after the latest results, which include absentee ballots, were released on Tuesday.

Hanif had declared victory over the weekend, Tweeting "WE DID IT BROOKLYN!" shortly after the in-person results revealed she had an insurmountable lead over West.

West congratulated Hanif in a statement Saturday.

"While the numbers aren't yet certified, it appears the result of this race will not be what we were hoping for," he wrote. "Though I won't be continuing this fight from within City Hall, I want to congratulate Shahana Hanif on her victory and for running a hard-fought, honorable campaign."

The district's current city council member, Brad Lander, also offered Hanif his congratulations over the weekend.

Hanif worked as Lander's director of organizing and community engagement, which includes running the Participatory Budgeting program.

She was one of seven candidates on the ballot to replace the term-limited council member, who is in the lead to become the city's next comptroller.

The 39th District spans Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, the Columbia Waterfront District, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park and Kensington.

This story has been updated to include absentee ballot results, which were released late Tuesday.