Welcome to the Monday, June 21, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Voters in New York to decide local primaries on June 22
- Ohio House of Representatives expels former speaker Larry Householder
- COVID-19 policy changes and events one year ago this week
Summer is officially here! Thanks for starting your mornings with a taste of the Daily Brew.
Voters in New York to decide local primaries on June 22
June is a busy month for primaries in battleground elections this year. New Jersey and Virginia held primary elections for state executive and legislative offices on June 8. And voters across New York state will decide primaries for local offices on June 22, including races in New York City. Let’s take a closer look at two on the ballot—mayor and comptroller.
Thirteen Democrats and two Republicans are running for their respective parties’ nomination for mayor of New York City. The winners of these primaries will advance to the general election on Nov. 2.
Incumbent Bill de Blasio (D) is not running for re-election due to term limits. De Blasio was first elected in 2013 and won re-election in 2017 with 66% of the vote. Four of the last six New York City mayors have been Democrats.
New York City’s primary will feature the first use of ranked-choice voting for a mayoral race in the city’s history after residents approved the method in a 2019 ballot measure, 74% to 26%. Voters will be able—but not required—to rank up to five candidates on their ballot in order of preference. A candidate must receive a majority of votes cast to win the election, and votes for eliminated candidates are redistributed based on the next preference on the ballot.
The following six candidates have received the most media attention and noteworthy endorsements in the Democratic primary:
- Eric Adams, Brooklyn borough president
- Kathryn Garcia, former New York City sanitation commissioner
- Raymond McGuire, former Wall Street executive
- Scott Stringer, New York City comptroller
- Maya Wiley, former mayoral counsel
- Andrew Yang, entrepreneur
New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers founder Fernando Mateo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa are running in the Republican primary.
The top issues in this race are crime, policing, affordable housing, jobs, and healthcare. Click here to read about each candidate’s policy proposals on these issues. Election officials are not expected to complete tabulating results from the June 22 primaries until early July due to deadlines for submitting absentee ballots.
Ten candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination for comptroller. The comptroller’s duties include performing audits of city agencies and managing five public pension funds—which totaled $253 billion in assets as of March 2021.
The following seven candidates are leading in endorsements and fundraising:
- Brian Benjamin, state senator
- Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, former CNBC financial analyst
- Zachary Iscol, former Marine and nonprofit founder
- Corey Johnson, New York City Council speaker
- Brad Lander, New York City Council member
- Kevin Parker, state senator
- David Weprin, state assemblyman
Daby Carreras was the only Republican candidate who filed to run for comptroller and will advance to the general election as that party’s nominee.
Other New York state races
Voters will also decide primary elections in New York City for public advocate and all 51 city council seats, along with the city’s five borough presidents, two borough district attorneys, and local judges. Ballotpedia is also covering party primaries on Tuesday for the mayor and all 16 seats on the city council in Albany, and the mayor and three city court judges in Buffalo.
Ohio House of Representatives expels former speaker Larry Householder
The Ohio House of Representatives voted 75-21 to expel former House Speaker Larry Householder (R) from the chamber on June 16. Forty-two Republicans and 33 Democrats voted in favor of expulsion. Twenty-one Republicans and one Democrat voted against. Republican members of the Ohio House—the party that last held the seat—will select a new member to fill the vacancy resulting from the expulsion.
Householder was arrested on July 21, 2020, and charged with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering scheme. He allegedly participated in a $60 million bribery case related to the legislative passage of a $1.5 billion funding bill for two nuclear power plants. Householder pleaded not guilty to the charges. Four other people, including former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, were also arrested.
Householder served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1997 to 2004 and was elected again in 2016. He became Speaker of the House in 2019 after defeating sitting House Speaker Ryan Smith (R). The Ohio House of Representatives voted 90-0 to remove Householder as speaker on July 30, 2020. He remained in office as a member of the House following his arrest and won re-election in November 2020 against four write-in candidates.
Householder is the fourth state legislator to be expelled this year, after Luke Simons (R-N.D.), Rick Roeber (R-Mo.), and Mike Nearman (R-Ore.).
COVID-19 policy changes and events one year ago this week
- Election changes:
- The Tennessee Supreme Court declined to stay a lower court order that had extended absentee voting eligibility to all voters during the pandemic.
- The United States Supreme Court declined to reinstate a district court order that had expanded absentee voting eligibility in Texas.
- New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed legislation authorizing county clerks to mail absentee ballot applications automatically to all registered, mailable voters in the general election.
- Federal government responses:
- President Trump (R) restricted the issuance of certain visas permitting immigrants to work in the United States, citing the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Mask requirements:
- The governors of Nevada and Washington issued mandates requiring individuals to wear face-coverings in indoor and outdoor public spaces.
- Travel restrictions:
- Govs. Ned Lamont (D-Conn.), Phil Murphy (D-N.J.), and Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) announced that travelers arriving in their states from states with a high infection rate must quarantine for 14 days. The infection rate was based on a seven-day rolling average of the number of infections per 100,000 residents. At the time, eight states met that threshold.