The Democratic primary for the 38th District City Council Member in Brooklyn, covering the Sunset Park Chinese community, concluded on June 24th. Incumbent progressive council member Alexa Avilés faced a challenge from first-generation Chinese immigrant Ling Ye, ultimately winning by a significant margin to secure the nomination for re-election.
According to the Board of Elections (BOE) statistics as of 10:30 pm that night, with 99% of the votes counted, Avilés received 9,771 votes, capturing 71.52% of the total votes cast. Ling Ye garnered 3,815 votes, accounting for 27.93%, with a total of 13,661 votes counted.
Compared to four years ago, the voter turnout increased by approximately 1,500 people. In June 2021, Chinese-American youth Yu Lin challenged Avilés, with a total of six candidates running that year. Lin received 3,113 votes (25.7%), falling short to Avilés’ 4,806 votes. The total Democratic Party voter turnout was 12,116. Despite Ling Ye’s loss, she mobilized voters successfully in the scorching weather, receiving over 700 more votes than Lin.
The voting results in different districts also reflected differences in voter demographics. The highest voter turnout was in AD51 district (near the waterfront area) with over ten thousand votes, where Avilés received 7,907 votes compared to Ling Ye’s 2,243 votes. In contrast, in the predominantly Chinese community of AD49 district along 8th Avenue, the total votes cast were 1,836, with Ling Ye slightly ahead at 956 votes, while Avilés received 880 votes.
Avilés is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the Council’s Progressive Caucus, while Ling Ye self-identifies as a moderate, pragmatist “pragmatic idealist.”
According to the Campaign Finance Board data, Avilés will run in the general election in November representing the Working Families Party. At that time, she will face Luis Quero, who focuses on opposing homeless shelter policies and will run on the Republican and Conservative Party tickets.