In top Harlem political news, Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam is expected to win the Democratic primary for City Council in one of the most watched races in New York City.
As he walked into his victory party Tuesday night, the sense of change in Harlem was palpable.
Salaam, who has never been elected before, is on track to defeat two sitting lawmakers who ran for the same City Council seat for District 9 in Harlem.
“What has happened in this campaign has restored my faith in knowing that I was born for this,” Salaam said.
Some considered Inez Dickens the favorite in the race. Dickens had endorsements from much of the Harlem establishment and Mayor Eric Adams. But in the end, it didn’t seem to matter much.
“We will continue to work because we are talking about the community and not individual victories and losses. so i love you Know that I’m not going anywhere. I will continue to be here in this community, as will you,” Dickens said.
Also in the race was Assemblyman Al Taylor. He ended his primary night at Salaam’s victory party to congratulate the likely winner.
“I mean, listen. I took a shell. But I didn’t see my numbers that way. I didn’t. And I think when you look at this community, people are saying we want change. We want people to col· lab. We need harmony in our community,” Taylor said.
Salaam’s story resonated with voters in the low-turnout election. He and his friends were falsely accused of sexual assault in an infamous case more than 30 years ago, which exacerbated racial tensions in the city.
He spent time in prison before being exonerated.
“This campaign has been about those who have discounted themselves. This campaign has been about those who have been forgotten. This campaign has been about our Harlem community, which has been pushed to the margins of life. And he was led to believe that they were supposed to be there,” Salaam said
With not all ballots counted, Salaam is close to breaking the 50% threshold to prevent ranked-choice voting from starting.
More will be known after the absentee ballots are counted next week.
