2016 New York State Assembly 65th district special election

2016 New York State Assembly 65th district special election

April 19, 2016
New York State Assembly 65th district
Nominee Alice Cancel Yuh-Line Niou Lester Chang Party Democratic Working Families Republican Alliance Independence Reform Popular vote 7,873 6,654 3,752 Percentage 41.34% 34.94% 19.70%
Precinct results Cancel:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Niou:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60% Chang:      30–40%      >90% Tie:      30–40%
Member of the New York State Assembly before election Sheldon Silver Democratic Elected Member of the New York State Assembly Alice Cancel Democratic

The 2016 New York State Assembly 65th district special election was held on April 19, 2016. Democratic nominee Alice Cancel defeated Working Families nominee Yuh-Line Niou, Republican nominee Lester Chang, and Green nominee Dennis Levy to succeed Representative Sheldon Silver in the New York State Assembly from the 65th district.

Silver had served in the state assembly since 1976, and as Speaker since 1994, but he resigned and was convicted for a corruption scandal. Cancel won the Democratic nomination although Niou and Jenifer Rajkumar accused the process of being undemocratic. Chang received the nominations of the Republican, Independence, Reform, and Clean Up The Mess parties while Levy received the Green nomination.

Niou ran in the special election with the Working Families nomination, but Cancel won in the election. Niou later defeated Cancel in the 2016 primary and Rajkumar was elected to the state assembly after the 2020 election.

Background

Representative Sheldon Silver was first elected to the New York State Assembly in the 1976 election and was selected to serve as Speaker in 1994. Silver resigned from the speakership and state assembly and was later convicted in a $5 million corruption case.[1][2] Governor Andrew Cuomo called a special election for the seat alongside special elections for the 59th and 62nd assembly districts and the 9th Senate district.[3]

Campaign

Candidates

Democratic

The candidate was selected by 185 County Committee members using weighed votes. Yuh-Line Niou announced at the end of her five-minute speech at the selection meeting that she was dropping out stating that the nomination process was flawed. Alice Cancel defeated Paul Newell, Jenifer Rajkumar, Niou, and Gigi Li for the Democratic nomination. Rajkumar also stated that the selection process was undemocratic.[4][5]

2016 New York State Assembly 65th district special Democratic selection[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alice Cancel	5,772	70.04%
	Democratic	Paul Newell	1,770.5	21.49%
	Democratic	Jenifer Rajkumar	605	7.34%
	Democratic	Yuh-Line Niou	93	1.13%
	Democratic	Gigi Li	0	0.00%
Total votes			8,240.5	100.00%

Other

Newell declined the nomination of the Independence Party of New York.[4] Dennis Levy, the president of the New York State Committee to Legalize Marijuana, ran with the nomination of the Green Party.[6] Lester Chang appeared on the ballot with the nominations of the Republican, Independence, Reform, and Clean Up The Mess parties.[7]

Results and aftermath

The Lo-Down moderated two candidate forums during the campaign which included Cancel, Niou, Chang, and Levy.[8] Cancel defeated Niou, Chang, and Levy in the election.[9] During the 2016 election Niou defeated Cancel for the Democratic nomination and Niou won in the general election after defeating Republican nominee Bryan Jung, Green nominee Manny Cavaco, and Cancel who appeared on the ballot with the Women's Equality Party's nomination.[10][11] Rajkumar was later elected to the state assembly from the 38th district during the 2020 election.[12] Chang was later elected to the state assembly from the 49th district during the 2022 election.[13]

Results

2016 New York State Assembly 65th district special election[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alice Cancel	7,873	41.34%
	Working Families	Yuh-Line Niou	6,654	34.94%
	Republican	Lester Chang	2,972	15.60%
	Independence	Lester Chang	503	2.64%
	Clean Up This Mess	Lester Chang	155	0.81%
	Reform	Lester Chang	122	0.64%
	Total	Lester Chang	3,712	19.49%
	Green	Dennis Levy	714	3.75%
	Independent	Write-ins	93	0.49%
Total votes			19,046	100.00%
	Total	Invalid	892

Endorsements

Cancel endorsements

Local officials

• Margaret Chin, member of the New York City Council from the 1st district[2]
• Margarita López, former member of the New York City Council from the 2nd district[6]

Chang endorsements

Local officials

• Rudy Giuliani, 107th Mayor of New York City[14]

Newspapers

• New York Post[15]

Niou endorsements

State officials

• Marcos Crespo, member of the New York State Assembly from the 85th district[16]
• Maritza Davila, member of the New York State Assembly from the 53rd district[16]
• Brad Hoylman, member of the New York State Senate from the 27th district[16]
• Brian P. Kavanagh, member of the New York State Assembly from the 74th district[16]
• Francisco Moya, member of the New York State Assembly from the 39th district[16]
• N. Nick Perry, member of the New York State Assembly from the 58th district[6]
• Robert J. Rodriguez, member of the New York State Assembly from the 68th district[16]
• Linda Rosenthal, member of the New York State Assembly from the 67th district[16]
• Luis R. Sepúlveda, member of the New York State Assembly from the 87th district[16]
• Daniel Squadron, member of the New York State Senate from the 26th district[16]

Local officials

• Rubén Díaz Jr., 13th Borough president of The Bronx[16]
• Letitia James, 4th New York City Public Advocate[16]
• John Liu, 43rd New York City Comptroller[2]
• Carlos Menchaca, member of the New York City Council from the 38th district[16]
• Scott Stringer, 44th New York City Comptroller[2]
• Antonio Reynoso, member of the New York City Council from the 34th district[16]
• Ritchie Torres, member of the New York City Council from the 15th district[6]

Organizations

• New York State United Teachers[6]
• United Federation of Teachers[6]

Newspapers

• The New York Times[17][18]

References

1. "Sheldon Silver to Be Replaced as Speaker of New York State Assembly". The New York Times. January 27, 2015. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
2. "NY Assembly Seat Representing Manhattan Chinatown Goes to Democrat". NBC. April 21, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
3. "Cuomo calls April special election to fill L.E.S. Assembly seat". AM New York Metro. February 1, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
4. "Alice Cancel tapped by Democrats for special election". AM New York Metro. February 9, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
5. "Committee picks Cancel for special election; Niou abruptly bows out before vote". AM New York Metro. February 11, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
6. "Campaign for the 65th Assembly District: Endorsement Roundup". The Lo-Down. March 1, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
7. "Our Conversation with Assembly Candidate Lester Chang". The Lo-Down. April 14, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
8. "Recap: Candidates Speak Out Before Next Tuesday's Special Election". The Lo-Down. April 12, 2016. Archived from the original on July 7, 2021.
9. "Special Election 59 62 and 65 Assembly Results" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. April 19, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 7, 2021.
10. "Recap: Candidates Speak Out Before Next Tuesday's Special Election". The New York Times. September 13, 2016. Archived from the original on July 7, 2021.
11. "NYS Board of Elections Assembly Election Returns" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. November 8, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 8, 2021.
12. "New York elects first South Asian Americans to state Assembly". NBC. November 4, 2020. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021.
13. Fink, Zack (November 30, 2022). "Assembly prepared to vote against seating Brooklyn Republican". NY1. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
14. "Giuliani and G.O.P. going all out for Lester Chang". AM New York Metro. March 24, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
15. "The Post endorses Lester Chang to fill Silver's seat". New York Post. April 17, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
16. "Cancel gets Chin's nod, but Niou is far outpacing her in key endorsements". AM New York Metro. April 14, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
17. "Choices for New York's Special Elections". The New York Times. April 8, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
18. "New York Times Urges Voters to Choose Working Families Party Nominee for Assembly, Special Election, Instead of the Democratic Nominee". Ballot Access News. April 10, 2016. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.