When Brad Lander woke up early Tuesday morning to begin his big pitch for City Council, one of the first things he heard was the Black Eyed Peas.
It was their new hit song “I gotta feeling,” Lander explained to a packed crowd of supporters at Commonwealth on Fifth Avenue and 12th Street after securing the Democratic nomination for Park Slope’s 39th District.
“When I got out of the shower [my children Mark and Rosa] were playing that song and dancing around to it. They were kind of predicting tonight’s results.”
That feeling was felt by everyone in the bar as they cheered Lander’s victory in the five-person race to replace City Councilman Bill de Blasio, who himself, at last reports, was now facing a runoff against Mark Green in his quest to become the city’s next Public Advocate.
According to unofficial reports, Lander secured the Democratic nomination by receiving 5,129 of the 12,464 votes cast in the widespread district that includes Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park and Carroll Gardens.
The brass ring was caught in Lander’s grip once he secured 41.5 percent of the votes cast. Challenger Josh Skaller came in second, securing 25.5 percent. He was followed by John Heyer (just over 22 percent), Bob Zuckerman (7.4 percent) and Gary Reilly (3.79 percent).
As he hugged his supporters, Lander said that he hoped to begin his work as a councilman “tomorrow.”
He realizes, of course, that he has a few challenges ahead.
In a few short weeks, he will be running against Joe Nardiello, who secured the Republican nomination, George Smith, who lost the fight for the Republican nomination, yet remains on the Conservative line, and Green party candidate David Pechefsky.
