THE RESULTS ARE IN…

BY Claudio Cabrera

Yesterday, local elections in our districts were held and the results were as follows.

In the race that received everyone’s close eye, political veteran Adriano Espaillat won in convincing fashion against Mark Levine in the District 31 Senate race (51 to 38 percent).

The first Dominican American ever elected to state office will now fill the seat held by now Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (since 1998).

District 72

Longtime political veteran (over 35 years) Guillermo Linares won the District 72 Assemblymember race in a contest with  low voter turnout.

Linares, the first Dominican American ever elected to office, finished with 48 percent of the vote. His closest competitors were political newcomer Julissa Gomez (24 percent) and longtime Herman Farrell aide, Gabriela Rosa (12 percent).

But while Linares won convincingly, it’s fair to note that Gomez and Rosa ran impressive campaigns.

Gomez performed well in defeat. She fell 7,000 votes short (low voter turnout overall) of Linares and canvassed the neighborhood with great fervor. If you passed by any stores in our neighborhoods, you saw that her posters were as in many places as political veterans like Espaillat and Linares.

As for Rosa, her passion came across to anyone who has ever met her on the campaign trail or at a community meeting.

The future of local politics has a vast crop of young stars who even without political office, will continue to do good in our neighborhoods.

District 71

In a familiar theme this election season, another veteran defeated a relative newcomer when Herman Farrell won in a landslide against Ariel Ferreira 74 percent to 26 percent in the Assembly member race.

District 30

Many things change in Harlem, but political power usually stays in the same hands as veteran Bill Perkins kept his Senate seat defeating political consultant Basil Smikle 77-24 percent.