Making Herstory: Meet the Women Running for New York City Mayor
Words by Ruth Martinez
Cover photo courtesy of the Gothamist
The race for New York City mayoral office has taken off and there is an extensive list of candidates running from all sorts of backgrounds. Among these candidates are several women hoping to make history as the first woman to be mayor. While a lot of the buzz about the race has revolved around former presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, who is leading in polls, there is a growing desire to see a woman fill the role and tackle the myriad of issues that New York City is currently facing.
While men have long dominated New York City politics, the mayoral office has an inspiring history of ambitious women trying to break through the glass ceiling. In 1985, Carol Bellamy ran for office, and although she did not win the race, she became the first woman to be elected to a citywide office, holding the title of NYC City Council President. In 1997, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger was the Democratic nominee for mayor and the only female candidate. She lost against incumbent, Rudy Guiliani. Since then, plenty of women from different racial, economic, and professional backgrounds have ran for office, and there are high hopes this year for a diverse slate of candidates who are women.
Of the multiple women running for mayoral office across the political spectrum, there are currently four who are considered major contenders: Maya Wiley, Kathryn Garcia, Loree Sutton, and Dianne Morales.
Maya Wiley, a professor of urban policy at The New School and a former attorney, is widely recognized as a counsel for current the mayor, Bill de Blasio. Wiley’s politics are progressive with her campaign website emphasizing the need for investments in education, infrastructure, healthcare, and housing as a human right. She notes that these issues have been exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. She also has a detailed plan on reducing gun violence in the city, citing its relationship to economic opportunity and community engagement.
Wiley is arguably most passionate about criminal justice reform and she has extensive experience dealing with this issue as the former chair of the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board. She is an ardent supporter of police reform and the Black Lives Matter movement, as seen by her support to fire the NYPD Commissioner for the controversial response to the protests over the summer. In an interview with “Amplify Her,” an organization supporting women in NYC politics, she noted her support for redirecting police funds to other programs, discouraging policing in schools and instead, supporting community-based approaches. This position is becoming increasingly popular in liberal politics and Wiley hopes to connect with local communities as she fights for the candidacy.
Maya Wiley’s fast facts, courtesy of the New York Times
Kathryn Garcia also has ties to Mayor de Blasio, working under him as the city’s Sanitation Commissioner until 2020. She was previously the CEO of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), an experience she plans to draw from to tackle the housing crisis across the city. Garcia shares Wiley’s progressive sentiments on housing as a human right, along with her position on the need for police and education reform, and additionally hopes to address food insecurity during the pandemic. A notable aspect of her campaign is an intense focus on environmental issues and climate change, calling it the “defining issue of our time” on her website. She also highlights the intersection between climate change and other pressing issues, saying, “Climate change is not going away because there’s a pandemic. Addressing climate change is about protecting New York families.” During Garcia’s time as sanitation commissioner, she also led efforts on waste management and recycling.
Kathryn Garcia’s fast facts, courtesy of the New York Times
Candidate Loree Sutton is the only mayoral candidate representing the LGBTQ+ community. A retired general and army psychiatrist, she served as the city’s Veteran’s Services Commissioner. She is a passionate advocate for veterans and mental health services and hopes to expand these services as mayor. In contrast to Wiley and Garcia, Sutton is considered a more moderate Democrat and hopes to attract this voting bloc during the election. She opposes defunding the police and has also taken an interest in the way the Democratic party approaches businesses. In a Bloomberg article, Sutton says she wants to “reverse an anti-business attitude” that “pervades Democratic Party leadership.” Sutton also emphasizes her desire to protect undocumented immigrants by preserving New York’s status as a sanctuary city and advocating for a path to citizenship for Dreamers.
Loree Sutton’s fast facts, courtesy of the New York Times. Please note that Sutton has dropped out of the race since the publication of this article.
Nonprofit CEO Dianne Morales hopes to become the first Afro-Latina to hold office as mayor. A Brooklyn native, Morales’ policies are progressive, and her website outlines her plan for her first 100 days in office called “Dignity Now.” She plans to defund the NYPD and protect immigrants by barring the NYPD from working with ICE. Morales also supports basic income relief and has a strong focus on workers’ rights and equity in New York City public schools.
Morales is also an advocate for free CUNY education, a position that attracts college students and is part of the larger conversation on higher education affordability that was intensified during the pandemic. On her website, Morales calls CUNY, “the key to social mobilization for the most impacted,” and says we must recognize that, “higher education not as a commodity for the well-off, but as a public resource to which every New Yorker has a claim.” She says the Excelsior scholarship is not enough, emphasizing the need to remove economic barriers for low-income students in their path to higher education.
Dianne Morales’ fast facts, courtesy of the New York Times.
Although these four candidates are running against each other, they face similar difficulties as women running for political office. There is a long history of sexism in both local and national politics where women must confront preconceived notions about their capability in leadership positions. Women of color must also navigate racism that exists in the political world. These barriers, unfortunately, also bleed into campaign funding. Running for political office requires donors and other forms of income that are not always easy to acquire, a hurdle which is especially true for women. Despite the obstacles, these women are not backing down anytime soon, and the hope is that they can make history in New York City and prove that women can lead, too.
