Hello friends,

 

It has been a heartbreaking decision to make, but I am withdrawing from the race to represent the 39th district in the City Council. I am so grateful to my team and for the people who have supported the campaign. Thank you for believing in a mom, a former social worker, and a voting rights activist to bring both justice and functional governance to the city with a platform of transparency, equity, and putting constituent services at the center of solutions-based policy. 

 

I can't devote the time and effort necessary to a successful campaign. And I don't want to run if I can't give it my all. With the uncertainty of the future, especially what public school for my two children and over one million children city-wide will look like, my attention is divided and it will be for the coming months and foreseeable future. 

 

I am so disappointed. I love this city, this borough, and the 39th district. I wanted so much to represent you all. While I know that the time is not right for me to serve in this capacity, that does not mean I am going anywhere. I will continue to advocate for and serve my community, and fight for the causes I believe in. I will also make sure the issues parents are facing right now stay in the forefront of plans to reopen and rebuild our city. 

 

We are seeing the impacts, magnified by coronavirus, of the gutting of the safety net and the devaluing of work only now recognized as essential, work traditionally performed by communities of color, immigrants, and women. This work--healthcare, childcare, education, domestic work, agricultural work, to name a few--is essential, underpaid, and often invisible to the people creating policy. As the city faces the next few years of recovery and rebuilding, it is important that we don't lose the lessons being learned right now. 

 

The next council will inherit devastating budget shortfalls, the collective, unresolved grief of tens of thousands of preventable deaths, the continued economic fallout of the shutdown, and a racial and civil rights reckoning. They will be majority newly elected with a mandate for change, and will have a tough job. Here in the 39th, we have the ability to make a big impact. The economic make up of the district means we can elect leaders unbeholden to special interests or political machines. We brought the city its current mayor and possibly its next comptroller. We must be aware of this power and be thoughtful and intentional about whose voice we choose to elevate at a time when our city will need effective, bold, imaginative, and empathetic leaders. 

 

I want us to elect a council member who will be an independent and fearless champion in the fights and tough decisions that lay ahead, someone who will lead with their values while remaining accessible and accountable to the district. I want someone who will center impacted communities and every person's inherent value and right to dignity. They must work to dismantle structural racism long after the marches end. Even though it won't be me, I will stay close to the race and endorse whomever I feel can best take on the challenges they will inherit, and I will do everything I can to help get them elected.

 

I am sad and disappointed today but I am more determined than ever to continue to fight. Thank you again. I am humbled by and grateful for your support.

 

All my best,

Nicole