Two weeks after falling short of defeating incumbent Councilmember Diana Reyna (D-Williamsburg) in a bid for the 34th District Council seat, Democratic District Leader Maritza Davila is preparing to reviveher campaign for office on the Working Families Party line.
At press time, Davila had not publicly declared her intention to run on the WFP line, but has privately told several North Brooklyn community leaders that she is continuing to run for City Council and oppose Reyna, the Democratic nominee, in the general election on November 3.
“The public will know when I’m ready to tell them,” said Davila, declining further comment.
Kings County Democratic Party officials, including Party Chair Assemblymember Vito Lopez (D-Williamsburg), have been meeting quietly over the past week to discuss strategy over managing such a run, concerning fundraising and deployment of resources. A representative for Lopez declined to comment.
The Davila campaign has until October 2 to file campaign disclosure forms with the city’s Campaign Finance Board in order to receive public matching funds. As of September 30, Davila had not submitted those forms.
“All she has to do is submit a form that says she is going to continue running in general election and she will be seeking public funds,” said Joe Ferris, a spokesperson with the Campaign Finance Board. “There’s no deadline for her to send that in, but there’s a public funds payment tomorrow, and another on October 8.”
Davila will be making her first major public appearance as a WFP candidate at a Make the Road New York demonstration, on October 1, where she is expected to march over the Brooklyn Bridge from Cadman Plaza to City Hall with over 1,000 Latino immigrant workers to advocate for the passage of Paid Sick Day legislation.
“She confirmed her attendance.She said, ‘I heard you guys are doing this, what are the details, I want to come,’” said MRNY Executive Director Andrew Friedman.“Diana (Reyna) will be there too.”
Reyna spokesperson Antonio Reynoso said that the Councilmember expected Davila to continue campaigning but that they were focused on the general election.
“We’re preparing for a November election.With or without her run, we’re going to make sure Diana gets the win come November 4,” said Reynoso.
A spokesperson with the Working Families Party declined to comment, noting that the organization remained focused on the general election.It is unclear how much support the WFP will lend to the Davila campaign, though severalNew York political observers credit the Party with contributing to public advocate candidate Bill De Blasio and Comptroller candidate John Liu’s victories in Tuesday’s Democratic primary runoff.
A WFP win over a Democratic nominee while rare, would not be unprecedented. Brooklyn Councilmember Letitia James (D-Fort Greene) ran on the WFP line and won against Democratic candidates in the general election this decade.
