NYC borough president races: Who's running?
A borough president reviews land use proposals and gives an advisory opinion that can influence City Council decisions.
They also appoint community board members, shaping how neighborhoods grow and where resources go.
In the Manhattan borough president race, there is no incumbent, as Mark Levine is running for comptroller.
NEW YORK CITY - A borough president reviews land use proposals and gives an advisory opinion that can influence City Council decisions.
JUMP TO: BRONX l BROOKLYN l MANHATTAN l STATEN ISLAND l QUEENS
MORE: NYC primary election 2025 ultimate voter guide
They also appoint community board members, shaping how neighborhoods grow and where resources go. It's a key role for setting local priorities.
In the 2025 primary election, only three races are competitive: the Democratic primaries for Manhattan, Brooklyn and Bronx borough presidents. Here's a look at the candidates running, both opposed and unopposed, as well as real-time election results.
Election results will become available when polls close at 9 p.m.
Local perspective
Here are the candidates for each borough:
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson (D) is running for re-election after first winning the seat in 2021.
Challenging her in the Democratic primary is City Councilmember Rafael Salamanca (D), who chairs the Council's Land Use Committee.
Antonio Reynoso (D) is running for re-election after first winning the Brooklyn borough president seat in 2021. He previously served on the City Council and has picked up endorsements from major unions, elected officials and the Working Families Party.
Khari Edwards (D), a corporate executive and community advocate, is running again after losing in 2021. He has not held elected office and is campaigning on education, job training and gun violence prevention.
Janine Acquafredda (R) is a real estate broker and the only Republican in the race, automatically advancing to the November ballot. She's focused on public safety, homeownership and defending drivers' rights in the city.
There is no incumbent in the Manhattan borough president race, as Mark Levine is running for comptroller. The Democratic candidates are State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, City Councilmember Keith Powers and emergency medicine doctor Calvin Sun.
Hoylman-Sigal has served in Albany for 12 years and has passed over 350 bills. He has endorsements from former Manhattan borough presidents, Manhattan Democratic Party leaders, Rep. Jerry Nadler and the Healthcare Workers Union 1199.
Powers is a term-limited City Councilmember focused on land use and affordable housing. He has raised slightly more campaign funds than Hoylman-Sigal and is endorsed by several members of Congress, Union 32BJ and the Teamsters.
Sun is a doctor with no prior elected office experience. His campaign focuses on healthcare access, cost of living and education, and he has raised significantly less money than the other two candidates.
Voters will choose between two candidates running unopposed in their parties in the November general election.
Republican Vito Fossella is the current Staten Island borough president. His tenure includes efforts to challenge congestion pricing and oppose voting rights for non-citizens in city elections. Fossella's 2021 campaign was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. His campaign currently holds $77,304 with no public matching funds.
Democrat Michael Colombo is focusing on affordable housing, better public transportation and public health. Colombo emphasizes his working-class Staten Island roots over party politics. His campaign has raised $67,805 and has not received matching funds.
Voters will decide between two candidates in the November general election since neither faces a primary challenge.
Republican Henry "Ike" Ikezi works in real estate and focuses on job training, affordable housing and increasing NYPD presence for public safety. His campaign has raised over $15,000, but currently has under $1,000 available.
Democrat Donovan Richards is the current Queens borough president. He has directed funding toward hospitals, affordable housing, clean energy and nonprofits. Richards previously served on the City Council, where he led zoning and public safety committees.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
12 minutes ago
- The Hill
The House is awash in subpoenas as Epstein inquiry expands
Congress has been rightly criticized for not pushing back sooner against executive branch encroachments on first branch constitutional prerogatives. Congress's relative somnolence is understandable though not wholly excusable. The silence on the Hill has been due in large part to the unilateral party control of both houses of Congress and the presidency. There is a certain grace period observed at the outset of a new administration while it gets its ducks in a row on policy and legislative priorities. Missteps and overreach inevitably occur and usually are met by majority party tolerance and inaction on the Hill. This Congress has followed the norm and oversight was overlooked except by the lone voices of protest on the minority party side of the aisle. Last month we witnessed the first cracks in the stone dam. It occurred on July 22 in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. There, in the Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement chaired by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), ranking member Summer Lee (D-Pa.) offered a motion to subpoena the Justice Department for the complete files of Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died by suicide in prison in 2019. The motion surprisingly carried on an 8-to-2 vote with three Republican members joining all Democrats to adopt the motion. Two of the subcommittee's Republicans, including Chairman Higgins, voted against the motion. The subcommittee subsequently adopted by voice vote a motion offered by Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) to subpoena the deposition testimony of a host of former government officials from both parties, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, six former attorneys general and two former FBI directors. One of the subpoenaed former officials, Obama Attorney General Eric Holder, was asked on ' Meet the Press ' last Sunday whether he would comply with the subpoena. He wouldn't commit, explaining that conversations were ongoing to determine exactly what information the committee wanted. Program moderator Kristen Welker pressed him, noting that he was the first attorney general in history ever to be held in contempt of Congress in 2012 for his refusal to testify on 'Operation Fast and Furious,' tracking illegal gun sales. 'Do you have any regrets about that now,' and, 'will that be informing your decision now?' Holder explained that the information sought in that instance was 'confidential' internal executive branch communications and, presumably privileged (though only the president can invoke executive privilege). The White House and Justice Department did not attempt to prosecute Holder for criminal contempt of Congress in 2012. Whether the other subpoenaed former attorneys general and FBI directors will take their lead from Holder's decision this time will be interesting to watch. What makes the Epstein files disclosure demand especially unique today is President Trump's apparent flip-flop on the issue of disclosure from his previous use of it as one of the major issues on which he campaigned. It was a symbol of bringing down the ruling elites and draining the Washington swamp. That commitment has waned. As pressure grew, the president belatedly directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek release of sealed grand jury transcripts in the Epstein case. That request was denied by a Florida judge. Meanwhile, the president has put out the word that it's 'time to move on.' The Supreme Court's decision in McGrain v. Daugherty in 1927 held that Congress has an inherent right to compel testimony and conduct oversight as part of its constitutional lawmaking functions. The case was an offshoot of the Teapot Dome oil leasing scandal of the early 1920s. In that instance, a Senate select committee was inquiring into why former Attorney General Harry Daughety did not investigate the matter when it first broke. It had subpoenaed Mally Daugherty, the attorney general's brother and president of a bank at the heart of the scandal. When Mally refused to comply with the subpoena he was cited for contempt of Congress and found guilty. The Supreme Court reversed a lower court and upheld Mally's conviction. That 1927 decision did not turn off the spigot and witnesses today are still challenging subpoenas and inviting contempt citations. Whether a contempt citation is prosecuted is solely at the discretion of the Justice Department. The failure by the Justice Department to prosecute Holder's contempt of Congress citation in 2012 could well be a precursor to another prolonged battle of the branches. This time Congress could potentially wind-up with a sawed-off limb. Don Wolfensberger is a 28-year congressional staff veteran culminating as chief of staff of the House Rules Committee in 1995. He is author of, 'Congress and the People: Deliberative Democracy on Trial' (2000), and, 'Changing Cultures in Congress: From Fair Play to Power Plays' (2018).
Fox News
16 minutes ago
- Fox News
GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin, former MMA fighter, skips seat belts in DC over carjacking fears
Print Close By Alex Nitzberg Published August 14, 2025 Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma indicated that he does not wear a seat belt while driving in Washington, D.C., because he wouldn't want to be "stuck" in the event of a carjacking. "And by the way, I'm not joking when I say this: I drive around in Washington D.C. in my Jeep … and I don't buckle up," Mullin said. He made the comments during an appearance on the Wednesday episode of Fox News Channel's "The Ingraham Angle," which was guest hosted by Brian Kilmeade. GOP SENATOR WARNS DEMS DELAYING TRUMP NOMINEES 'WE CAN DO THIS THE EASY WAY OR HARD WAY' The senator explained that the reason he does not strap in while driving in D.C. is because of the possibility of carjacking — he does not want to be "stuck" in his vehicle if he needs to swiftly exit. "And I wear my seat belt all the time, but in Washington D.C., I do not because it is so prevalent of carjacking," he said. HARMEET DHILLON SAYS 'MALODOROUS HOMELESS PERSON' TRIED TO STEAL HER PHONE IN DC The lawmaker "is a former undefeated Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter with a professional record of 5-0" and "was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016," according to his Senate website. President Donald Trump recently moved to crackdown on crime in the city. SCHUMER GIVES PROFANITY-LACED RESPONSE TO WHETHER DEMS WILL HELP EXTEND DC POLICE TAKEOVER CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP During a press conference on Monday, he called it "liberation day in D.C.," declaring, "We're gonna take our capital back." Print Close URL
Fox News
31 minutes ago
- Fox News
Schumer feels 'perfectly safe' in DC, says Republicans are ‘full of it' on crime concerns
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that he feels "perfectly safe" in Washington, D.C., and that Republicans who say that D.C. is unsafe are "full of it." During an interview with lawyer Aaron Parnas on his podcast, "The Parnas Perspective," Schumer was asked about President Donald Trump's federalization of D.C.'s police force. "I want to get your reaction to everything that's happening in D.C.," Parnas said. "But, first, a lot of folks on the Republican side, your Republican colleagues, say that they are very scared to walk outside in D.C., that they think this is completely the right thing to do. Senator, are you scared walking around Washington, D.C., these days?" "No," Schumer replied. "I walk around all the time. I wake up early in the morning sometimes and take a nice walk as the sun is rising around some of the Capitol and the other monuments and things. And I feel perfectly safe." On Monday, Trump announced that he would be taking control of D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department, and deploying 800 National Guard troops to the nation's capital. Schumer went on to slam Republicans for their safety concerns. "They're full of it," he said. "Look, here's what they've done, Aaron, plain and simple. Donald Trump wants to distract. That's his game plan. It's been his MO for his first term in the presidency and now, so he's trying to make this a distraction. What's he trying to distract from? Well, a lot of things. But above all, Epstein." Senate Democrats have been pushing for Trump to fully release the documents connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and Trump has told Attorney General Pam Bondi to "produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony" on the subject. Schumer said that Trump's focus on D.C. crime is a distraction tactic. "We've been confronting him on Epstein very successfully left and right, so much so that Johnson had to dismiss, you know, had to send his House home early, and we called it the Epstein recess," Schumer said. He added that Democrats won't let the Epstein issue go when they return from their August recess. "We have found an arcane rule that if five members of our Homeland Security Committee demand documents, we should get them," Schumer added. "When I really — you know, when I attacked them for sending the Deputy Attorney General, Trump's lawyer, down to interview Ghislaine, they went crazy. They're feeling it and we're not letting go. When we come back, we are going to have many more things in terms of going after them on the Epstein files. So that's what it is. It's a distraction, plain and simple." Many Democrats have been dismissive of the 47th president's push to crack down on crime in D.C., and have argued that crime in the capital is at a 30-year low. Since Aug. 7, law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., have arrested over 100 people, including 43 arrests on Tuesday. "Chuck Schumer, another out-of-touch liberal, enjoys the comfort of full-time, taxpayer-funded security details provided by the U.S. Capitol Police," Special Assistant to the President and principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital in a statement. "For the rest of America, who face the realities of crime in Democrat-run cities without an armed detail, they welcome President Trump's tough-on-crime approach that is Making America Safe Again."
