Yvette Clarke wins Democratic primary as Caribbean candidates succeed in Brooklyn
Clarke took 66 per cent in the 9th Congressional District, while Jaime Williams, Brian Cunningham and Monique Chandler-Waterman also won their races.
NEW YORK, United States. Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke easily won her Democratic primary on Tuesday, June 23, as she seeks re-election to the House of Representatives.
With 44,694 votes counted in the predominantly Caribbean 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, Ms Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, received 29,670 votes, or 66.38 per cent. Mike Goldfarb received 6,686 votes, or 14.96 per cent, and Joshua A. Bristol 6,372, or 14.26 per cent.
‘Onwards to November’
“Tonight, I am grateful to the voters of New York’s 9th Congressional District for once again placing their trust in me,” said Ms Clarke, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus.
She said she remained committed to “comprehensive immigration reform, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, and an economy that works for everyone.” Ms Clarke co-chairs the Congressional Caribbean Caucus and has said she takes her Caribbean heritage to Congress. She succeeded her Jamaican-born mother, Dr Una S. T. Clarke, on the City Council, the council’s first mother-daughter succession.
Other Caribbean candidates
Trinidadian-born Assembly member Jaime Williams held the 59th Assembly District seat, taking 4,172 of 6,490 votes, or 64.28 per cent, against Jibreel Jalloh, whom she described as a “Socialist-backed candidate”, who received 2,138 votes.
“With affordability impacting families across our district, the stakes in this election are simply too high,” Ms Williams said.
In the 43rd Assembly District, Assembly member Brian Cunningham, the son of Jamaican immigrants, won with 9,810 of 12,506 votes, or 78.44 per cent, against Ahron Gluck.
In a bitterly contested race for female district leader in the 58th Assembly District, Assembly member Monique Chandler-Waterman, the daughter of Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants, unseated the incumbent, Haitian-born City Council member Mercedes Narcisse.
With 99 per cent of scanners reported, Ms Chandler-Waterman had 4,566 votes, or 41.65 per cent, against 2,974, or 27.13 per cent, for Ms Narcisse. State Senator Kevin Parker, running for male district leader, received 3,391 votes.
“Our neighbors have voted for real Democratic leadership that puts accountability, integrity, and transparency first,” Ms Chandler-Waterman said.
