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CityAndStateNY.com
June 14, 2021
Who’s Running For Borough President The posts have limited formal power but influence plenty of major issues.
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By Annie McDonough
OR AN ELECTED OFFICE that’s often described as “largely powerless,” there sure are a lot of people lining up to run for borough president. New York City will have six borough president primaries this month – a Democratic primary in each of the five boroughs, plus a Republican primary in Staten Island. Only Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is running as an incumbent, as each of the other borough presidents is term-limited. One term-limited borough president’s promising mayoral run is a good indication of the self-promoting
role the borough presidency sometimes serves, even if it is a mostly ceremonial position that controls a tiny fraction of the city’s budget and wields some influence over land use proposals. The real power of the borough presidency lies in its bully pulpit. But that bully pulpit can be influential, and this year’s candidates hope to use it promote their borough’s needs – be it equitable health care access or a lack of affordable housing. While the city’s Democratic mayoral primary may be dominating the election conversation, the borough president primaries can’t be ignored.
