Marte Takes Wide Lead in Bid for Lower Manhattan City Council Seat

Christopher Marte with his campaign supporters celebrate the candidate's big lead during an election night party on Tuesday. "It'a the largest indoor gathering I've been in," Marte said. Photo courtesy of the Marte Campaign

Four years ago, Christopher Marte was a 28-year-old political upstart when he narrowly lost his bid to unseat Margaret Chin in a race for the City Council in the 1st District. Now he’s heading to victory.

With absentee ballots yet to be counted in the Democratic primary race, Marte has garnered 40.14% of the vote (7,556 votes), well ahead of the 17.45% (3,296 votes) for his nearest rival, Jenny Low. Gigi Li, Chin’s chief of staff, came in third at 15.77% (2,969 votes).

As with the other races, a winner won’t be called until he or she receives over 50% of the vote through the ranked choice balloting process, with the first-round results coming next week.

“It’s as good as winning,” Marte said Wednesday morning, seated with he campaign manager, Caitlin Kelmar, outside Duane Park Patisserie in Tribeca.

“It’s statistically impossible for us not to win,” Kelmar added.

Marte, the only candidate in the nine-person race to specify land use policy as his top priority, gained a following around the district as an advocate for communities fighting projects such as a jail tower in Chinatown, mega-towers in the Two Bridges neighborhood, and a controversial tower in the South Street Seaport, as well as a voice for those opposing the Soho Noho rezoning plan. (Marte’s advocacy also led to a late, well-funded attack ad campaign against him by Common Sense NYC, a super PAC largely funded by Hudson Yards developer Stephen Ross and billionaire Ronald Lauder.)

“I think people saw us as a familiar face,” Marte said, “someone they could rely on.”

Marte, whose campaign was aided by some 200 volunteers, also credited his victory to “the hard work that me and my team have done, whether it’s being seen at the Greenmarket every Saturday morning or being at early morning drop-offs at schools, or going to every community event—whether it was on Zoom or in person. I think we were able to meet people, talk to them and listen to them.”