JUNE GUNK forever
this months' shows + the mayors race
🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
something just so awesome about june, not even bc its 🌈 vibes i think the word is just so beautiful and its so beautiful outside and everyone’s happy. i hope that this substack finds everyone happy
we were a little delayed this month but we are enjoying the sunshine
SOFT POWER VOTE’S Top 5 Picks for Mayor
By Melissa Saenz Gordon and Molly Salas
Nueva Yol! It’s Primary Election season, baby! We have the opportunity to re-shape our city on June 24th. NYC’s most powerful is BANKING on young people opting out, so let’s show them what happens when we all show up. Millennials and Gen Z voters are now the LARGEST voting bloc, but we’re also the most unreliable voting bloc. Zohran has a really good chance of winning because of Ranked Choice Voting, but only if young people show up on June 24th.
With Ranked Choice Voting, we have the chance to BLOCK Andrew Cuomo and elect someone who is truly for everyday New Yorkers, but we have to lean into RCV to really unlock its power. RANK 5 CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR! FYI: Eric Adams only won by 7k votes and that’s likely because many people didn’t fill all 5 ranks! Don’t rank Cuomo! Check in with your community and ask folks who they’re voting for. Now is not the time to be shy to have these conversations. Let’s level up, NYC!
For more info on the Primary Election, follow @SoftPowerVote and @NYCVotes on IG. We get into all the info and more in our voter guide dropping June 9th!
Soft Power Vote’s Mayoral Rank
Put your faves up top, but for the lower ranks, think about it like, “would this person be better than Cuomo?” The answer is, YES!
Zohran Mamdani
Currently: Assemblymember (Astoria and Long Island City)
Why #1: Zohran is by far the best choice for a bold imaginative vision of what New York could be! The Democratic Socialist candidate running on making NY affordable for all, he’s polling second OVERALL to Andrew Cuomo (big deal), and has a real shot by building a broad coalition of New Yorkers. He wants to freeze the rent on rent stabilized apartments, increase the minimum wage to $30 by 2030, make childcare universal, and tax the rich. He’s stood with taxi drivers, street vendors, Palestine, and more.
Brad Lander
Currently: NYC Comptroller
Why #2: Brad knows how the city works and how to push back on Adams’ corruption (and probably Trump’s). The man loves a detailed report (complimentary). His biggest push is for housing solutions to end homelessness in NYC, and as City Councilmember, achieved benefits for gig workers and climate resilient policies. He’s super popular in his home court neighborhood of Park Slope, but hasn’t captured the same juice in the progressive lane as Zohran. Regardless, he’d be a great Mayor!
Adrienne Adams
Currently: Speaker of the City Council (Jamaica & Ozone Park)
Why #3: Adrienne Adams would be so much better than Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo as Mayor, and Zohran thinks so too! In late May, he advocated for his base to donate to her campaign to keep her in the race (another tactic of RCV campaigning that we should see MORE of!). She announced her run late, highlighting competence and experience. She’s the more centrist Democrat of our slate, a math rank to put RCV to the test. Adrienne’s gaining traction with reliable voters who probably voted for Eric last time and don’t want to jump to Cuomo, which is a win. She is NOT related to Eric, and stood up to him often as Speaker!
Zellnor Myrie
Currently: State Senator (Crown Heights & Prospect Lefferts Gardens)
Why #4: Zellnor is great! He was a vocal critic of Eric Adams when he first announced his candidacy in late 2024, which arguably put Eric on his toes. Since then, Zellnor has veered a bit to the center with endorsements from Rep. Dan Goldman (ick). As a state senator, he’s expanded voting rights and focused on criminal justice reform. All in all, Zellnor is hella smart and would be WAY better than Cu0mo and Eric Adams.
Jessica Ramos
Currently: State Senator in (Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Corona)
Why #5: Hey, it’s a longshot for Jessica at this point, but her resume is stacked with wins for working people and immigrant communities at the city and state level. Before Speaker Adams entered the race, she was the only woman running and she would be LIGHTYEARS better than Cuomo and Eric Adams. Rank her to fill a full 5 slots!
Ranked Choice Voting Hot Tips
RCV only applies to city races: Mayor, City Council, Borough President, City Comptroller, Public Advocate
FOR MAYOR:
RANK ALL FIVE SLOTS: This means your vote will LAST LONGER and gives us a better chance to block Cuomo from winning the Primary.
DON’T RANK ANDREW CUOMO: tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your ELDERS to leave him off.
If you only like 1-2 candidates, consider “who would be better than Cuomo” outside of your top picks.
You can’t rank the same person 5 times.
The truth is: There are some good candidates and some great candidates and ALL of them would be better than Cuomo!
For other city races, you don’t need to rank ‘em all! (But for Mayor, see above!)
NYC, Greatest city in the world!
Important Dates:
Deadline to register to vote: June 14
Last Day to Request an Absentee Ballot online or by mail: June 14
Last Day to Request an Absentee Ballot IRL at a Board of Elections office in your borough: June 23
Early Voting: June 14 - June 22
Election Day (aka the LAST day to vote!): June 24
Register to Vote HERE
Deadline is June 14!
Find your Poll Site HERE
Remember: Early Voting and Election Day Poll Sites may vary
JUNE shows of past present and future. get to your gig. this month has some legendary bills.
we hope to see you later this month at the rockaways and at your favorite shows <3 I will say I am especially excited for:
6/6 at nightclub 101 lily seabird x hemlock x adelyn strei
6/8 at cassette Leah Rando x carol x erik romero
6/10 baby’s all right with dutch interior x Dari bay x oldstar
6/11 dada cafe with carmen quill x Kenny warren and more….
6/14 union pool with carmen Perry x sister x ben special
6/15 night club 101 little kid x pleasure systems x foxes in fiction
6/16 night club 101 renny Conti x hiding places
6/17 elsewhere purelink x James krivchenia
6/26 the broadway (loren Connors and more playing…)
6/27 the owl music parlor R&D album release show and simultaneously Paul spring and friends playing at Sunny’s
6/28 Florry is playing at TV Eye with a rocking new album
these are only but a few bills that are getting me in the it’s-summer-so-i-can-never-just-be-at-home mood. and duh we should see you 6/21 at ripper’s on Rockaway beach to catch Youbet x Gymshorts x Youth Large x and your very own GUNK editor DJ set.
gunk forever
xoxo
Hannah and Ceci