Maritza Davila, right, will run as Working Families Party candidate against Democrat Diana Reyna in the 34th Council District election. — Photo by Aaron Short

In the two weeks between falling about 250 votes short in the Democratic primary to incumbent Councilmember Diana Reyna and the Democratic primary runoff, Maritza Davila, Assemblymember Vito Lopez, and a handful of senior advisors hunkered down to determine whether it was worth it to proceed.  

A court challenge appeared unlikely, as Reyna added more votes during the mandatory machine recount four days after the election.  Neither was a spot on the Independence Party line, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg was currently on. Davila would have had to petition separately for that.  Her only hope for continuing through the general election was campaigning on the Working Families Party line against Reyna, the Democratic Party winner, with the full support of Lopez, the Kings County Democratic Party Chair.   

Initially, Lopez balked.  He knew it was difficult to oust a Democrat when many voters in Brooklyn are trained to vote on a straight Democratic ticket.  In order to vote for Davila, voters would have to skip over the ballot column of Democratic candidates and individually click Davila instead of turning the switch for all Democratic candidates.   

Plus, he might face some criticism within Democratic circles for endorsing a candidate against a Democrat.  The Brooklyn Paper has already noted this conundrum.  And Lopez would be unable to count on support from Councilmember Erik Dilan who noted back in March that he would remain neutral in the race because of his reluctance to campaign against a sitting Councilmember and a colleague. 

Lopez told City Hall News, however, that “Maritza ran a great campaign” and that Davila almost defeated Reyna in the primary:

“I am [Democratic] county leader, but I am also a local district leader [with Davila]. I am also a member of a Democratic club [that supports Davila],” Lopez said, explaining why he was backing the WFP candidate over the Democratic nominee. “It seems like everybody is running as a Working Families Party candidate these days. Call up John Liu and Bill de Blasio and ask why they are running on that line.”

Several sources said that it was Davila who was driving the decision to run against Reyna in the general election and that she had to convince Lopez for his support.  While Lopez is backing Davila publicly, it is unclear what kind of Democratic Party resources he will distribute to Davila for her general election run.  Another source told me that Lopez is still fuming over the outcome of the Primary and has blamed Davila for the close defeat. 

Still, she is moving forward.  On the weekend of September 28, Campaign workers were instructed to return to Davila headquarters at the Bushwick Democratic Club on Wyckoff Avenue to restart campaign activities.  On October 2nd, Davila officially filed with the Campaign Finance Board that she was continuing her Council run.  She has appeared at several public events including Make the Road New York’s march for Paid Sick Day legislation and has resumed politicking in front of churches including Our Lady of Pompeii this past Sunday where she reminded residents to register to vote. 

Much of their general election strategy hinges on whether Davila could raise enough money to receive public matching funds and whether the Working Families Party would give their resources to help her campaign.  A WFP spokesperson declined to speak about the Davila campaign in detail, but said their priority is defense for existing WFP candidates facing strong challenges.  That is code for Jumaane Williams, the Democratic nominee in the 45th District, who is fighting a spirited general election campaign from Kendall Stewart.   

This week, WFP members are discussing how they will distribute resources, financial and manpower, towards the remaining WFP candidates.  Two of the stronger WFP-backed candidates besides Davila include Lynn Schulman, who is running in Forest Hills against Karen Koslowitz, and Mark Winston Griffith, who is challenging Brooklyn Councilmember Al Vann.   

Where Davila ultimately ranks among the WFP candidates and how well she is able to mobilize the resources available to her will determine whether she can mount a serious challenge to Reyna in November.  How Gerry Esposito’s supporters will vote will also strongly sway this race.  Reyna won election districts in Italian Williamsburg by large margins, but there has been vocal dissatisfaction with her performance among Esposito voters.  They could pick Davila or sit the election out entirely. 

Political observers such as Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf and several Democratic District leaders have told BushwickBK that it is highly unlikely voters in Williamsburg and Bushwick will vote against a Democrat in the general election.  Still, stranger things have happened.  And in a low-turnout election, whoever mobilizes the most voters to back their candidate will win the second round of this Council race.