Of the 51 seats in New York City Council, 29 have challengers to incumbents on the ballot. But four of those races stand out: each has a Democrat on the ballot seeking to best a Republican in a district that swings both ways.
Currently, six Republicans hold seats in the 51-member Council, each representing districts where voter frustration over public safety, affordability and quality-of-life issues has given the GOP its largest foothold since the Giuliani era. In these districts, local issues tend to outweigh party loyalty, making these elections highly competitive.
As the general election approaches on Nov. 4 — with early voting starting on Oct. 25 — here is our guide to four closely watched council races in The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens.
If you don’t know who’s running for City Council in your district, you can view your sample ballot using the Board of Elections’ poll site finder.
District 13, The Bronx: Morris Park, Pelham Parkway, Pelham Bay, Country Club, Van Nest, Westchester Square, Throggs Neck and City Island
Republican incumbent: Kristy Marmorato
Democratic challenger: Shirley Aldebol
Kristy Marmorato’s narrow 2023 victory in the Northeast Bronx marked the first time in two decades that a Republican held elected office in the borough. She unseated Democrat incumbent Marjorie Velázquez, who lost support from constituents after backing a controversial development project that she had previously opposed.
Now, Shirley Aldebol is hoping to flip the district back to blue. Aldebol, a longtime labor leader, emerged as the Democratic nominee from a crowded seven-person primary. She earned endorsements from the Bronx Democratic Party and several politically influential unions, including the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, 1199 SEIU, NYSNA, DC37 AFSCME and 32BJ SEIU, where she worked for two decades. (Independent candidate Joel Rivera, who lost the Democratic primary, is also on the ballot.)
While the two major candidates are nearly tied in fundraising — Marmorato has raised $249,462 and Aldebol brought in $352,714, including public matching funds — Aldebol has received significant backing from labor-supported independent spending committees. Hotel Workers for Stronger Communities, Labor Strong, and her former employer’s Empire State 32BJ SEIU have together spent more than $437,000 on her behalf for phone banking, ad placements, digital ads, and mailers, according to Campaign Finance Board records.
Since taking office, Marmorato has focused on public safety, education, and quality of life issues, earning endorsements from the Corrections Officers’ Benevolent Association and the United Federation of Teachers. She has also been outspoken in her opposition to Bally’s proposal to build a 500,000-square-foot casino and hotel at Ferry Point Park in the district. That project is now one of three casino proposals up for final consideration for a state license. Marmorato had also voted against the Just Home supportive housing development for formerly incarcerated people with complex medical needs. In a rare move, the Council recently approved it despite Marmorato’s objections.
District 19, Queens: College Point, Whitestone, and Bay Terrace
Republican incumbent: Vickie Paladino
Democratic challenger: Ben Chou
Vickie Paladino’s outspoken attitude has helped her maintain a stronghold in the northeastern Queens district. A conservative provocateur active on social media, the minority whip has called drag queen story hours “child grooming,” rejected COVID vaccine mandates and recently called for the deportation of Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.
Paladino’s 2021 win turned the district red after she narrowly defeated Democratic former state Sen. Tony Avella. This year, she faces Democrat Ben Chou, a 33-year old firefighter from Douglaston, who’s campaigning on promoting affordability, public safety, and community investments including educational access and neighborhood improvements. Paladino is running on a platform of support for the NYPD, protecting small businesses and closing migrant shelters. She has received endorsements from the District Council of Carpenters and the Police Benevolent Association.
Chou has earned the endorsements of state Sens. John Liu and Jessica Ramos and has raised $390,468 with public matching funds, roughly $50,000 more than Paladino, according to campaign finance records. She has already maxed out her allowed fundraising, while Chou expects to reach his campaign spending limit according to City & State.
District 30, Queens: Maspeth, Glendale, Middle Village and parts of Ridgewood
Republican candidate: Alicia Vaichunas
Democratic candidate: Phil Wong
This politically mixed district was represented for many years by Bob Holden, the moderate Democrat who is famously friendly with city Republicans and has run on both party lines in the past. But now, he is term limited and his seat is up for grabs.
His legacy will continue into the next term, however — because both major party candidates running are former staffers for Holden. Phil Wong, the Democrat, is Holden’s constituent services and budget director and Alicia Vaichunas is the councilmember’s deputy chief of staff.
According to City & State, each has pledged to hire the other, no matter who wins.
Wong is ahead in the money race with a total of $356,781 raised through private donations and the city’s public matching program, records show. But Vaichunas pulled in an impressive sum, too, with a total of $222,302 to spend.
The race is a real toss-up in a district that’s much more purple than other parts of the city. Registration records show an even split between Democrats (50% of registered voters) and Republicans, other parties and unaffiliated voters. And voters swung to the right in the last mayoral election, voting for Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election by 60% to Eric Adams’ 34% in the general election.
District 47, Brooklyn: Bay Ridge, Coney Island and parts of Bath Beach
Republican candidate: George Sarantopoulos
Democratic candidate: Kayla Santosuosso
This seat is up for grabs because current Councilmember Justin Brannan is term-limited. Kayla Santosuosso, who is chief counsel in Brannan’s office, is competing against George Sarantopoulos, the founder of an ATM and credit card processing company. The June primary was the closest in the city: Sarantopoulos won the Republican primary by just 16 votes, defeating Brooklyn GOP Chair Richie Barsamian, amid allegations of voter fraud that included claims the Board of Elections certified ballots cast by deceased voters.
Sarantopoulos has centered his platform on issues of public safety, quality of life and affordability. Santosuosso has made affordability, protecting green spaces and quality of life main themes of her campaign.
Santusuosso earned the backing of Brannan, State Sen. Andrew Gournardes, the Working Families Party, and several unions and local Democratic clubs. Sarantopoulos received endorsements from mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, Queens councilmember Bob Holden, and his former rival Barsamanian. Santosuosso also has a slight fundraising advantage over Sarantopoulos, raising $443,779 to his $431,593 including public matching funds. Santosuosso also received some support from the Labor Strong political action group, which paid for mailers supporting her.
The Southern Brooklyn district was redrawn in 2022, merging parts of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Coney Island into a single district that voted heavily for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Brannan secured his second term after defeating former Councilmember Ari Kagan, who garnered 42% of the vote. Kagan had previously represented portions of the area before redistricting and lost his first reelection bid after switching from Democrat to Republican mid-term.
