Is Brooklyn in the house?! On Tuesday night, you couldn’t tell a Brooklynite a darn thing. The energy in the People’s Republic of Brooklyn was astronomical.
“Brooklyn is running things in this city!” shouted Craig, a public school teacher and ecstatic attendee at new District Attorney-elect Ken Thompson’s victory party. “We have a Black Brooklyn D.A. with Ken, we have a Black Brooklyn borough president with state Sen. Eric Adams, a Black female public advocate with Letitia James, and we keep Brooklyn strong with Robert Cornegy taking over Councilman Al Vann’s seat.”
“All of the new people sort of grew up together, so there’s no new friends. We all know our strengths and weaknesses, which is absolutely essential for the city,” Council Member-elect Cornegy told the AmNews after his victory party at Milk River club in Bed-Stuy. “Yes, Brooklyn is looking really strong, right. It is cute to say that everybody is from Brooklyn [in terms of the big citywide elections], but it is only a cute slogan if we don’t work together.
“It only becomes a hashtag—#Brooklynstrong—if we don’t bring our collective strengths together. But yes, Brooklyn is looking really good!”
With Biggie pumping out of the speakers and folks from all walks of life and all creeds sipping on drinks and chowing down on sliders, patties, barbecue chicken, salad and rice in Sanders Studios in Bed-Stuy, the feelings of anticipation were electric as people vibes in Sanders Studios in Bed-Stuy, the anticipation was electric as people counted down the moment when Thompson would be declared the winner in what had become a vitriolic battle with District Attorney Charles Hynes.
There was an air of righteous validation in the large room as the numbers came in showing a landslide victory over Hynes, who had gracefully conceded defeat after the bruising Sept. 10 primary, which he lost to Thompson by 10 points, only to turn around and announce months later that he was going to run on the Republican and Conservative lines to prolong his 23-year career as Brooklyn district attorney. The fact that the six-term Brooklyn district attorney had been a Democrat for his almost 30-year career and suddenly switched sides, plus the bitter campaign, which was reduced at times to name-calling and accusations, signaled that under Hynes, the borough would return to former days of high crime, fear and corruption. Voters rejected the negative lean and gave Thompson a huge mandate.
Solemnly facing his supporters in Bay Ridge during his concession speech on Tuesday night, Hynes admitted that he was shocked by the “substantial vote.”
With Thompson trouncing him for the second time in two months—this time with a 75 percent to 25 percent thrashing—the 79-year-old Hynes proclaimed, “It gives Ken Thompson a clear mandate, which he didn’t have after the primary.”
“I am truly grateful and deeply humbled, for the people of Brooklyn have taken a man who started out in life with the odds stacked against him and made him the next district attorney of Brooklyn,” Thompson told the happy folks at his victory party.
Preparing to leave for Puerto Rico for an annual conference, he later told supporters, “We did it again. I am honored and humbled to serve you as Brooklyn’s next district attorney. We took on an improbable task and made history once again last night. I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart. As part of our incredibly broad, diverse coalition of supporters, you knocked on doors, made phone calls, talked to friends and family and joined forces to move forward our progressive agenda. And it paid off.
“Now the work begins to root out crime and corruption wherever it exists, prevent wrongful convictions and end stop-and-frisk abuses. Together, we are going to usher in a new day in Brooklyn where equal justice prevails. And I could not be more proud to serve as your lawyer.”
Retired Brooklyn police captain, state Sen. Eric Adams had a smooth 90.82 percent win. As he prepares to journey to the Ivory Coast with a U.S. delegation, he told the AmNews,“I am excited for Brooklyn, for the opportunity to lead a borough of 2.6 million people, 47 percent of whom speak a language other than English at home. Brooklyn is truly the diversity capital of the city, and it is my goal to bring all the people our brand and that prosperity to all Brooklynites.”
Public Advocate-elect James coasted to an 84 percent victory. Promising to immediately buckle down and hear the people at town hall meetings to find out what their immediate concerns are, James told the AmNews, “I am honored and privileged to have made history and to let little girls—particularly of color—that they can reach for the stars and dream big, and for all women to know that we can remove all barriers.” She said she will be advocating publicly against the scourge of poverty in the city, “creating more affordable housing that is truly affordable and providing wages that can truly sustain families and having an educational system that is not unequal and has one standard for all children.”
After a testy primary, Brooklyn District Leader Cornegy won his race, taking over for elder statesman Vann with 87 percent of the vote. “I am extremely happy that 18,000 people let their voices be heard; it was a record turnout for District 36. It was rough and tough because we didn’t know what our opponent had in terms of [outside] money spent. It was never easy, but we are ready to go to work. I am at work now, and the main reason is because I want to make sure that before I am sworn, I am aware of all the money allocations that are due to come to the district.”
And to round off the whole Brooklyn victory lap, the lead runner is Council Member-elect Inez Barron, who won a crowded Sept. 10 primary race to replace Charles Barron in his East New York District 42 City Council seat.