Mark Levine Wins Manhattan Borough President Primary Race

NEW YORK, NY — Mark Levine appears set to win the competitive primary for Manhattan Borough President, as the City Council member held onto his election night lead after ranked-choice and absentee results were released.

Levine, 52, led State Sen. Brad Hoylman by more than 7 percentage points round once the other five Democratic candidates had been eliminated, according to nearly complete results released Tuesday.

After initial results were posted last week, the ranked-choice tally was re-run on Tuesday, this time including more than 39,000 absentee ballots that had been returned in Manhattan. But Hoylman conceded the race over the weekend, knowing that the absentees were unlikely to tip the result in his favor.

There are still absentee ballots to be counted but this I can say: THANK YOU MANHATTAN! pic.twitter.com/tN1thNc2yQ
— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) July 3, 2021

Levine, who has represented Upper Manhattan's District 7 in the City Council since 2014, is now poised to succeed Gale Brewer as borough president, assuming he wins November's general election against two Republican and Libertarian opponents. (Brewer won the primary to reclaim her old City Council seat on the Upper West Side.)

While partly ceremonial, borough presidents' duties include issuing recommendations on land use proposals that can influence their fate. They also control a sizable budget that they can use to fund local projects.

Major issues in the race included some of the key land-use proposals facing the borough, like the SoHo/NoHo rezoning, the New York Blood Center expansion and the 250 Water Street tower at South Street Seaport.

Levine rose to prominence during the pandemic as the Council's health committee chair, using his platform on Twitter to spread crucial public health information. During the race, he and his rivals were largely aligned on most issues, though Levine voiced more openness to new development, including the SoHo rezoning.

Levine's other campaign issues included investing in the city's pandemic recovery and requiring new developments to include more affordable housing.

Seven Democrats were on the ballot for Manhattan Borough President, with other top contenders including East Side City Councilmember Ben Kallos; Lindsey Boylan, a former state economic development aide; and Elizabeth Caputo, a former community board chair.

The ranked-choice results showed Caputo coming in third place, followed by Kallos, Boylan, Guillermo A. Perez and Kimberly Watkins.

Previous coverage: Manhattan Borough President Race: Where The Candidates Stand