Powers looks ahead after primary Win

Keith Powers emerged as the winner in last Tuesday’s Democratic primary election for the District 4 city council seat, finishing atop a crowded field of candidates to replace incumbent Council Member Dan Garodnick, who is unable to seek reelection due to term limits.

Powers finished with 4,019 votes, outpacing second-place finisher Marti Speranza by a nearly two-to-one margin. Powers, a member of Community Board 6 who previously worked as a lobbyist and staffer to Assembly Member Jonathan Bing and Senator Liz Krueger, celebrated his victory at an election night party in Peter Cooper Village/Stuyvesant Town, where he grew up and still lives.

The morning after the primary, Powers spoke with Garodnick, who had endorsed him a few days before the election. The incumbent’s message to his likely successor was “pretty simple,” Powers said. “Be happy and go out and say thank you.” Powers took Garodnick’s advice to heart. “I walked around the neighborhood this morning just to say thank you to some folks,” he said. “It was really overwhelming.”

After a competitive primary campaign that featured eight other Democrats, Powers plans to take a few days to rest and spend time with family before turning his attention to the Nov. 7 general election, in which he will face Republican Rebecca Harary as well as Rachel Honig, who finished third in the Democratic primary, on the independent Liberal Party line.

“I get a few days to take a breather, but I like campaigning,” Powers said. “It’s energetic, it’s fun, and if you’re a candidate you have to like it.”

If he’s successful in the general election, Powers’ priorities for the district, which includes Midtown East, Peter Cooper Village/Stuyvesant Town, and parts of the Upper East Side, will include promoting small businesses and affordable housing. He also hopes to improve city government itself by passing an ambitious reform platform that would tighten restrictions on campaign contributions and lobbying.

Powers said he’ll follow Garodnick’s lead in placing focus on constituent affairs and assisting residents with day-to-day issues. “I really like working with people individually, so I want to build an office that can be successful like Dan’s and be a really visible presence in the district,” Powers said.