35th Council District
Longtime district Councilwoman Letitia James is running for public advocate this year and a crowded field of candidates are vying to take her place. Laurie Cumbo has emerged as a potential frontrunner, racking up influential endorsements and serving as a lightning rod for attacks from her rivals. The district includes Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, and parts of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, and Bedford-Stuyvesant.
OLANIKE ALABI
• Service Employees International Union staffer working with health care employees. Former district manager of Community Board 2.
• Lost a race for the 57th state Assembly district in 2012.
• Age 37, unmarried.
LAURIE CUMBO
• Founder and owner of Fort Greene’s Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts. Professor at Pratt Institute.
• Once worked as a community organizer, bringing concerts to public housing and organizing block parties to benefit local businesses.
• Age 38, unmarried.
EDE FOX
• Chief of staff for Councilman Jumaane Williams. Former staffer for Councilwoman Melissa Mar-Viverito.
• Served as chief of staff for councilman Jumaane Williams.
• Age 42, unmarried.
FRANK HURLEY
• Attorney. Former Assistant district attorney in Queens.
• Former assistant to Board of Education Chancellor Joseph A. Fernandez.
• Age 52, married
JELANI MASHARIKI
• Director of Pamoja House Men’s Shelter in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
• Occupy Wall Street organizer and community board member for Interfaith Medical Center.
• Age 38, unmarried, one daughter.
THE CAMPAIGN
• Fox claimed that Cumbo undervalued the price of artwork donated to raise money for her campaign, but Cumbo’s campaign says that no laws were broken.
• Cumbo missed the only debate before the primary, which Fox called an “insult to the community.” Olanike Alabi also showed up an hour late, saying that she had been held up by work.
• Laurie Cumbo’s white field director resigned after reporters uncovered bizarre statements on his Facebook page, including one saying, “The south shall rise again!!!!!!!!!”
