Rosenthal cruises to primary victory

Helen Rosenthal is one step closer to representing the Upper West Side in the City Council for a second term after a decisive victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary election.

The incumbent won 13,060 votes, more than double the 6,280 votes earned by second-place candidate Mel Wymore, according to unofficial results from the New York City Board of Elections. The other Democratic challenger, Cary Goodman, finished with 805 votes.

Rosenthal, who first won election in 2013, will face Republican Hyman Drusin and independent Bill Raudenbush in the Nov. 7 general election.

Wymore, a community organizer and former Community Board 7 chairman, also finished runner-up to Rosenthal in the District 6 Democratic primary in 2013, when Rosenthal earned 7,716 votes to Wymore’s 6,440 for the then-open District 6 council seat.

This year’s Council race was marked by lower voter turnout and a narrower field of candidates than the primary four years ago. Roughly 8,000 more votes were cast in that primary, but on a Democratic ballot that also featured a competitive mayoral race. One possible reason for this year’s lower turnout was that the mayoral primary — traditionally a driver of voter participation —was a relatively uncompetitive contest won by Mayor Bill de Blasio with 74 percent of the vote.