Harlem socialist Kristin R. Jordan is not seeking re-election
Embattled left-wing Democrat and Socialist Harlem City Councilwoman Kristin R. Jordan announced Tuesday that she is not running for re-election — a startling development just weeks before the June 27 primary.
“Unfortunately, I’m writing this to let you know that I have decided not to seek re-election and not to commit to another two years,” Jordan said in a June 27 Instagram post.
“I want to thank all the people in solidarity and all the volunteers for your time and hard work.”
Political insiders said Jordan saw the “signs on the wall” and realized she would lose her Democratic primary to rivals who include Reps. Inez Dickens and Al Taylor, and Yusef Salaam, who was involved in the infamous Central Park Rape Five case was exonerated.
Jordan’s liabilities included her attendance and voting records. The Post recently reported that it missed almost half of its council committee meetings.
She also blocked an ambitious housing project in Harlem that would include space for a civil rights museum backed by Rev. Al Sharpton.
A self-proclaimed democratic socialist, Jordan is an abolitionist who has campaigned to cut police funding and has stirred outrage with anti-cop messages and other statements.
She called the NYPD “the biggest gang in New York City” and a “white supremacist institution”.
Her other infamous tweets include expressing condolences to the family of Lashawn McNeil, the man accused of killing police officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora last year in response to a domestic violence call, and to the officers’ families.
The councilwoman also blamed Ukraine and the US for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Her critics had mixed feelings about the announcement.
They welcomed her departure but enjoyed defeating Jordan in the elections.
“The only sad thing about the news is that we can’t beat her in the primary. She saw the signs on the wall,” said Kevin Elkins, political director of the New York City District Council of Carpenters, a union that supports Al Taylor.
Jordan’s choice in 2021 was a bit of a fluke.
She defeated the then seriously ill incumbent Bill Perkins.
The Council’s 51 seats are up for re-election in this two-year cycle as a result of the redistribution that takes place every ten years.
They usually take place every four years.
