The 2023 city council races are in full swing

There is no rest for the weary campaign.

Just 13 months after their last election, candidates for the 2023 New York City Council seats are already on their way to the polls, and Republicans are optimistic about their prospects for expanding their bloc in the House.

The most competitive places will be the newly revamped 47th District, which includes Bay Ridge and Coney Island; The Bronx’s 13th District at City Island and Pelham Bay, and the newly created Asian-majority 43rd District at Sunset Park, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst.

If the GOP wins all three seats, that would create an eight-member minority on the 51-seat council. In addition, conservative Democrats Kalman Yeager and Bob Holden frequently vote for the GOP bloc.

“The Democrats have not changed their stance, and those in a vulnerable position may also face the primaries on the left first,” Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) said.

Embattled Democrats like Councilman Justin Brennan, who won his most recent election by 601 votes, are taking no chances.

“The red wave that hit south Brooklyn in the last election gave Trump Republicans a boost of courage. As of right now, there are 4 candidates preparing to challenge Justin in 2023, each trying to outdo the MAGA of the other,” Brannan said in a fundraising email sent in December 2022—an early warning.

This time, Brennan was reassigned to the somewhat more profitable 47th District. County Republicans have been trying to remove him for years. His biggest challenge is expected to come from councilman Ari Kagan, who recently stunned city political observers by becoming a Republican in December. The redistricting will turn him against Brannan—if he can survive his own GOP primary.

“We’ve been sounding the alarm about political headwinds in south Brooklyn for a long time,” Brennan told The Post. “I was able to win my races – tough races – thanks to my constitutional merit. Being responsive and doing something for people is something that goes beyond the party, and it is ultimately work.”

Kagan’s main rival on the Republican line is expected to be Michael Ragusa, a retired city EMT.

Influential Manhattan Capital Republican Club Last week, the Ponte Vecchio restaurant in Bay Ridge hosted an $80 a plate fundraiser for Ragusa that drew 55 people.

During an appearance last week on WABC-AM radio, both Ragusa and conservative talk show host Sid Rosenberg accused Kagan of being a “changeling” who changed parties – not because he has strong conservative values, but because that this is the easiest way. for the ex-Democrat to defeat Brannan.

Kagan declined to comment.

Brannan said he doubted voters in his district would influence the Capital Republican Club’s support for Ragusa, given the organization was known to have come under fire in 2019 for inviting the founder of the far-right group Proud Boys to an event that eventually sparked a massive brawl.

In the 43rd District, Republicans see a shift to the right of Asian American voters on issues like crime and education as cause for optimism. Curtis Sliva, the 2021 GOP mayoral nominee, won the district with over 60% of the vote.

“I don’t think they feel safe,” Rob Cole, a longtime GOP consultant, said of the county’s residents, adding that former Mayor de Blasio’s drive to stop testing at the city’s elite high schools was another hurdle for Asians. Mayor Adams later backed down in the face of harsh criticism.

Cole, who believes there could be up to 10 Democratic Council seats in the game, said the State Assembly’s early refusal to elect Republican Lester Chang over residency issues would be a gift to the party in 2023. Chang was eventually allowed to take his seat.

“He is the first Republican from Asia to be elected to the Assembly,” Cole said. “I think Asian people will take it as a slap in the face for them and their idea of ​​the area.”

Party leaders are hoping to field a star candidate in the Bronx to challenge Democratic Councilman Marjorie Velasquez. In 2021, her constituency narrowly defeated Plum, but Velasquez won her race with 55.4% of the vote.

“If we’ve learned anything, it’s that it’s better to have a fantastic candidate with presence, fundraising ability, and ground play in a normal district than just dropping someone out there in a strong district for us,” Borelli said.

In addition to fighting Republican rivals, some incumbent Democrats are expected to face tough primary battles in June as the party’s center and far-left factions continue to drift apart.

For example, State Assemblyman Inez Dickens plans to take on Democratic Socialist Councilor Kristin Richardson Jordan in the 9th district representing Harlem and the Upper West Side because she said she was fed up with Richardson Jordan’s soft-line policies on crime. and is tough on the police.

Meanwhile, some Republicans are also hoping that Councilman Holden, whose term will be limited after 2023, will simply switch parties entirely.

“We joke about it all the time,” Borelli said.