Incumbent Councilmember Kamillah M. Hanks won the Democratic primary in June for Staten Island’s (SI) North Shore, but she still has competition for her seat coming up this November.
“I have every confidence that I’ll be victorious in November,” said Hanks. “I am perplexed about what it might mean in the long term since I have an Independent and Republican challenger.”
North Shore (District 49) has been Black-led since 2010 when former Councilmember Debi Rose, the first Black person to hold higher office on SI, was elected to represent the primarily Democratic district. Hanks follows in her footsteps and continues to be the only Black councilmember on SI.
Hanks, who grew up in Park Hill, is the founder and president of the Historic Tappen Park Community Partnership and served on the city’s Panel for Education Policy (PEP) prior to getting elected in 2021. She is a mother of four and grandmother of five. Her district covers neighborhoods like St. George, New Brighton, Tompkinsville, Stapleton, Rosebank, Park Hill, West Brighton, Westerleigh, Port Richmond, Arlington, Graniteville, and Snug Harbor on SI.
Leading up to this June’s Democratic primary, Hanks faced quite a few challengers including district leader Abou S. Diakhate, organizer Sarah Blas, and Telee N. Brown.
On Election Night, June 24, Hanks earned 58.46% or 6,706 of the votes at the close of the polls, according to the New York City Board of Elections (BOE). A bittersweet moment considering, Hanks’ mother had passed just before the primary, she said. After ranked choice voting rounds were tabulated, Hanks’ lead margin dropped minutely to 58.1% or 7,174 votes but still secured her place as the nominee.
“I represent Black and immigrant homeowners. Public housing and renters. Teachers, firefighters, cops, and union workers. I represent a diverse district, socially, economically, religiously, generationally. I am a reflection of my district. And having to balance that. Having people vote for me is humbling and a testament. No glitz. No glamor,” said Hanks. “Our strategy is to keep our heads down and do the work.”
Hanks said she has no ill-will toward Blas, since they’ve known one another for years, but she is a little concerned that her independent candidacy could split the vote in the general election. She also pushed back against “labels” like conservative or “establishment” Democrat, and said that she’s leaning on her voting record during her time on the council and her reputation of working across the aisle to get things done for the North Shore.
“Potholes don’t have political parties,” she said.
In terms of fundraising, Hanks has far exceeded other candidates so far with $266,430 in private funds and $162,890 in public matching funds, said the New York City Campaign Finance Board (NYCCFB).
Blas, 38, a Brooklyn native, is the founder of Community Impact Strategies and an executive director at Staten Island Women Who March, a lifelong progressive, and advocate for working families as a mother of six. She has a background in public health as a hospice care worker. She got 15.12% on Election Night.
Even though she didn’t have a strong showing, she pivoted to the Independent line and is now running in the general election in November — in the same way incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo jumped ship to being Independent candidates against Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. Blas has also unsuccessfully ran for Senate District 23 in 2022 and Congress District 11 in 2024.
“So our strategy was to focus on getting on not one line, but three lines. The councilmember, Hanks, and this is public information, her strategy was to knock as many folks off the ballot as possible, to silence as many voices as possible,” said Blas. “And so we spent the bulk of our funds, the bulk of our resources in battling not one, not two, but 11 legal challenges. So we showed up to court 11 times.”
Hanks caught a lot of heat for knocking city council candidate Jozette Carter-Williams, whose ex-husband was an NYPD officer killed in the line of duty in 1998, off the ballot after petitioning season. Hanks has also not been endorsed by the SI Dems Party for re-election.
Blas said her campaign has since consolidated support from the Democratic candidates that made the ballot and community leaders that announced their candidacy. She claimed that Hanks has been “absent” in the community, so being an Independent candidate won’t hurt her chances of winning. Blas has raised $17,522 in private funds and $68,308 in public matching funds so far, said NYCCFB.
“I think that especially given the state of our government now, the state of some of our elected officials, past and present, not showing up in the community,” said Blas. “I think folks are feeling very disenfranchised and that whole, ‘I’m just going to vote because they’re blue,’ is not enough anymore. They want to vote for someone that has a track record of showing up, a track record of doing things. Grassroots candidates are what folks are looking for, not establishment candidates.”
Meanwhile, the Republican challenger John Shea, a retired first responder raised on the North Shore, is looming over the Dem stronghold on SI. He has raised $15,190 in private funds and $48,134 in matching funds from the city so far, said the NYCCFB.