Christopher Marte Leads Race for Councilmember of District 1

Photo: Eddie Panta
The Primary results are not yet conclusive, but point to Christopher Marte, a son of the Lower East Side, as replacement for Margaret Chin for Councilmember of District 1.
As of this morning, Marte holds a commanding lead, garnering roughly 40 percent of votes cast. Just shy of the threshold for victory; but Gigi Li (Chin’s current chief of staff) and Jenny Low remain pretty far behind at 18- and 16-percent respectively. Should Marte secure victory, it would be redemption of sorts, four years after his narrow defeat at the hand of Chin.
However, it didn’t stop Marte from delivering a victory speech at party HQ last night on Canal Street.
If called in his favor, Marte will sit in City Council for a two-year term, rather than the standard four years due to a census-related provision in the city charter. (Every 20 years, terms are reduced from four years to two years to coincide with the redrawing of council districts.)