Your Guide to The Indypendent’s NYC Election Night Radio Special

On Tuesday, New Yorkers went to the polls in a historic primary election to choose a new Mayor, Comptroller and 51-member City Council to guide the post-pandemic city. The Indypendent marked the occasion by hosting a three-hour, election-night special on WBAI-99.5 FM.  We spoke with journalists, experts, and advocates about the pivotal challenges that New York is facing and how the primary’s outcome could shape the city going forward. 

Our listeners also got to hear live interviews with voters as they left the polls as Indy reporters hit the pavement in the Northwest Bronx, Clinton Hill, Brownsville and Crown Heights to ask voters how they feel about races which will be decided by ranked choice voting for the first time. 

Follow the hyperlinks to hear from the people we interviewed:

Pastor Tabatha Holley of New Day Church in the Northwest Bronx, an open and affirming (independent and non-denominational) community of organizers, educators, artists, young people and dreamers committed to building the movement of God against the forces of the Empire. Holley spoke about Juneteenth being celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time and shared her thoughts on mayoral frontrunner Eric Adams’ popularity with Black voters and the tensions within the Black community that have made his rise possible. 

Lucas Shapiro of The Jewish Vote, a group that endorsed a number of candidates and encourages alliance forming. Shapiro explained ranked-choice voting (implemented for the first time during this election), how it works and how it came about.

The Indy’s investigative journalist Ted Hamm and former editor at Brooklyn Rail on how the 1 Percent was using their wealth to back favored candidates and try and derail leftwing challengers. Hamm also explained how Tali Farhadian Weinstein was trying to buy the Manhattan DA’s race

Chi Anunwa, co-chair of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, who spoke about the six DSA-endorsed City Council races and what they were doing to try and replicate their victories in five state legislative races in 2020.

Tom Robbins, legendary investigative journalist for The Village Voice and host of Deadline NYC on WBAI. Robbins and our editor-in-chief John Tarleton talked about the topsy-turvy election season and the superficial media coverage in this year’s primary compared to old days at The Voice when every major candidate was closely scrutinized well in advance of election day.

Julie Hollar, managing editor at FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), who just wrote an article titled “Tabloids Want Crime, Not Rent, on NYC Voters’ Minds” that critiqued how sensationalist tabloids like the New York Post and New York Daily News have played to fears of crime while largely ignoring another pressing issue for working class New Yorkers: soaring rents and the threat of eviction.

Ben Max, executive editor at the Gotham Gazette and co-host of the Max & Murphy Show, which discusses New York politics and airs weekly on WBAI. Max has been reporting on and analyzing the mayoral race on Max & Murphy as well as on his Twitter @TweetBenMax, where he’s been giving his followers play-by-plays on poll data and other developments.

The Indypendent News Hour airs Tuesdays 5-6 pm on WBAI-99.5 FM. We will be pre-empted on Tuesday June 29 and return on Tuesday July 6. 

Please support independent media today! Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, The Indypendent is still standing but it’s not easy. Make a recurring or one-time donation today or subscribe to our monthly print edition and get every copy sent straight to your home.