UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Exiting Councilman Keith Powers knows who he wants to fill his seat when he exits next year. On Monday, the Democrat named Virginia Maloney as his choice for District 4.
Despite Powers’ critical endorsement, Maloney will still have to fight for her seat — she will be up against Republican candidate Alina Bonsell and Independent candidate Kyle Athayde in November.
“With deep experience in both the public and private sectors, Virginia brings fresh perspective that will serve the East Side well,” Powers said Monday.
“I encourage all my neighbors in District 4 to unite behind her candidacy in the general election.”
District 4 includes NoMad, Times Square, Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Turtle Bay, United Nations, Upper East Side and Carnegie Hill.
On primary election day, Maloney held the lead in District 4, with 26.79 percent of the votes, or 7,270 total votes. Vanessa Aronson was close behind, with 25.45 percent of votes, or 6,907 votes.
With no candidate earning more than 50 percent of the vote on election night, the race went to another round of counting thanks to ranked-choice voting, ultimately leaving Maloney the winner with 53.2 percent of the vote.
Prior to running for office, Maloney, who is from the East Side, worked in the federal government modernizing the high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor during the Obama Administration, and was a senior project manager at the NYC Economic Development Corporation under Mayor Bloomberg.
“Keith Powers has been a friend and a dedicated Council Member for our district. His leadership brought real progress — lowering rents at Waterside Plaza, preserving thousands of rent-stabilized homes in Stuytown and Peter Cooper Village, championing the Midtown South plan to convert empty offices into affordable housing, and securing hundreds of millions in transit upgrades for East Midtown,” Maloney said.
“I’m proud to have his support and to continue building on that work for the East Side.”
The general election is on Nov. 4.
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