For Eric Dinowitz, a public-school teacher, father of 5-year-old twins and aspiring politician, one of the challenges living through the COVID-19 pandemic has been the disruption of his musical career.
Dinowitz is a member of Six13, a Jewish all-male a cappella group formed in 2003. In an interview, he said what he has missed most over the last 11 months is frequent visits to the group’s recording studio and “traveling to different communities around the country,” which he described as “quite an experience.”
The group is mostly known for its Passover and Hanukkah parody songs, as well as political parodies. In 2016, it performed a parody of the Hamilton musical at former President Barack Obama’s White House Hanukkah party.
Five things to watch in the District 24 special
It’s finally here – the first New York City election of 2021 and the first of the ranked-choice voting era – and even if you’ve never heard the word Pomonok, the Council District 24 special election in Eastern Queens could set the tone for this whole season. Here are five burning questions we’ll be looking to answer once the polls close at 9 p.m.
How many voters will rank?
In San Francisco’s first ranked-choice voting election in 2004, nearly a quarter of voters said they only voted for one candidate and didn’t rank – and that was after an $800,000 outreach campaign. Conventional wisdom says that fewer voters ranking would be good news for James Gennaro, the one white candidate, since six of his competitors of South Asian descent might be targeting the same voters. Another question – given the snow and the cold and the lackluster early voting numbers – is how many people will vote at all.
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Nothing special about this election
Tuesday’s special election to replace expelled former City Council Member Andy King in District 12 in the northeastern Bronx is the end of an era: the last special or primary election to be held without ranked-choice voting. But the city’s political establishment is hoping it’s
70+ New York City Candidates Oppose Delay to RCV, Push Council on Education
Candidates in the same district, and former EDs of the BLAC, unite
NEW YORK, NY (12/16/2020) (readMedia) Today, over 70 candidates from across the city some running against each other released a statement in support of ranked choice voting (RCV) and opposing any delay. Instead they pushed the NYC Council to do its job and pass intro 1994, a bill that will fully fund voter education on RCV.
The full statement with signers including mayoral candidates Dianne Morales and Carlos Menchaca, former BLA (Black, Latino, Asian) Caucus executive director Corey Ortega, and 70+ others, below: