Wilson Leading Council Race for West Side Seat, Topping Boylan
Wilson was the man that Eric Bottcher had endorsed to be his successor. Council speaker Julie Menin and most other politicos had also endorsed Wilson. Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a surprise last minute endorsement of Lindsey Boylan, who finished a distant second.
| 29 Apr 2026 | 07:51
Carl Wilson, the chief of staff for former city council member Erik Bottcher who was elected to the NYS Senate is the winner of the four-way race for city council district 3 on the west side. He was 17 points ahead of the number two candidate Lindsay Boylan in the April 28 special election. (
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani had endorsed Lindsey Boylan for District 3. While it seemed to give her campaign a boost, she still finished a distant second. (
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The four-way race for district 3 city council included (from left) Leslie Boghosian-Murphy, Lindsey Boylan, Layla Law-Gisiko and Carl Wilson. (
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Carl Wilson racked up 43.1 percent of the ballots cast in the special election April 28 to fill the west side city council seat that opened up when Erik Bottcher was elected to the NYS Senate.
He held off a surge from Lindsey Boylan, who got a surprise last minute endorsement from Mayor Zohran Mamdanie just as early voted was starting. Most Democratic leaders including Bottcher and city council speaker Julie Menin had backed Wilson.
Technically, the results won’t become final for several more days as the Board of Elections tallies second place votes in the ranked choice voting. The winner needs to get over the 50 percent threshold.
But the unofficial tally released by the Board of Elections on April 28 at 9:58 p.m., less than an hour after the polls closed at 9 p.m. showed Wilson with 6,129 votes amounting to 43.08 percent of the votes cast, giving him a commanding 17 point lead over Lindsey Boylan who pulled 3,650 votes, amounting to 25.66 percent. Boylan who was the first woman to accuse former Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment counts herself as a member of the Democratic Socialists but did not receive their official endorsement in the race. Layla-Law Gisiko, a activist and long serving member of Community Board 5, pulled in 2,852 votes and 20.05 percent of votes cast while Leslie Boghosian-Murphy, a former journalist and chair of Community Board 4, had 1,525 votes and 10.72 percent of the votes cast.
Many saw the west side council district race which includes Chelsea, Greenwich Village, Hell’s Kitchen and parts of the UWS as a proxy battle between Mayor Mamdani and city council speaker Menin.
Menin, who joined Wilson’s victory party at Vers said on X Tuesday night: “Tonight, we had a resounding victory by electing Carl Wilson as our next City Council Member.”
“While we are waiting to count every vote, the numbers tonight are clear,” Wilson said in a statement. “District 3 has backed our message of affordability, compassion, and fighting for what matters in our community, and shown that local voices and neighborhood leadership still matter most.”
Wilson had also picked up endorsements from borough president Brad Hoylman-Sigal and former borough president and now comptroller Mark Levine who joined him at his victory party with Menin.
Also joining him was assembly member Tony Simone, democratic majority leader on the city council Shaun Abreu , and former city council speaker Corey Johnson.
While the results won’t become official until the second choice votes are tallied, Boylan said she had already called Wilson to congratulate him on his victory.
Wilson continues the tradition of a chief of staff moving up when his boss moves and electing a LBGTQ candidate in the tradition of Bottcher and Corey Johnson. Wilson’s campaign focused on affordability, transit, quality-of-life issues, the arts and LGBTQ representation. Wilson was the only openly gay candidate in the race, in a district which includes the Stonewall Inn and is widely considered to be the birthplace of the gay rights movement.
One flashpoint in the election emerged on the debate over whether to try to override Mamdani’s recent veto of a bill to establish buffer zones at protests at schools and educational institutions. The bill had passed the council overwhelmingly but was four votes short of a veto proof majority.
Wilson had said he would back Menin if she tried to override the veto. With several other more pressing matters such as the city budget taking center stage, Menin had yet to decide if she would push an override measure. But if she does, the imminent election of Wilson puts her one vote closer. Boylan, who was the first woman to step foward to accuse then governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, is a member of the Democratic Socialists. Although she not formally endorsed by the DSA, Mamdani clearly saw her as a potential ally in the city council against the more centrist Menin.
The result are expected to be formally certified by the Board of Elections on May 5 and since the seat is vacant, Wilson will be sworn in almost immediately.
“He built an unbelievable coalition that inspired voters across his district, and I can’t wait to welcome him as our next Council Member!,” said Menin on X.
But he’ll have little chance to rest on his laurels since he will have to run for re-election in November. The special election candidates did not run with official party labels. Wilson’s party was the For All of Us party and Boylan ran on a People Power candidate. But Wilson, Boylan, Law-Gisiko and Boghosian-Murphy are all registered Democrats.