Danielle Herbert Guggenheim, runner-up candidate in last month’s City Council District 11 Democratic primary has shared her reflections on the race and on a recent statement by the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club (BFRDC) on the “sweeping victories” of the club’s various endorsed candidates in the recent primaries.

 

As reported, after Round 1, Herbert-Guggenheim, a self-described single mother, and Black and Caribbean American who has served 25 years with the City’s Board of Education, had garnered 5,477 votes (28% of the primary electorate) to incumbent Councilman Eric Dinowitz’s 13,973 (71.4%) according to NYC Board of Elections (BOE). There were 118 write-ins (0.6%) and no inactive ballots. Dinowitz, a former teacher, first won his seat in 2021.

 

“In kindergarten, I teach not to be a sore loser,” Herbert-Guggenheim said. “That’s why I called Eric and left a message congratulating him on his victory. His campaign, with the strong backing of the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, won.  However, one third of the electorate did cast their vote for me, so I look forward to working with Councilmember Dinowitz on issues that matter.”

 

Herbert-Guggenheim went on to say that the final votes don’t tell the whole story, however. “I’m deeply proud of what our campaign accomplished,” she said. “With a fraction of the resources, we planted the seeds of a new coalition in City Council District 11.”

 

She said that coalition comprises members of her own local Democratic club, the Unity Democratic Club (UDC), the Northwest Bronx Democrats, Guerinos Against Graffitti* Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, and the NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees. Herbert-Guggenheim continued, saying the coalition reaches across neighborhood lines and invites new voices into the conversation that she said is “grounded in shared values, not political machines.”

 

As reported, over the course of the latest primary election cycle, Herbert-Guggenheim and Dinowitz can locked horns over Medicare Advantage and retirees.

 

The incumbent councilman, son of local Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), first won his seat during a controversial special election following the resignation of former Councilman and now Judge Andrew Cohen. Some argued at the time that the calling of a special election before the end of Cohen’s last term was conveniently orchestrated to benefit the ascent of Eric Dinowitz to the seat, since there is less time to canvass ahead of a special election and candidates with name recognition tend to fare better.

 

It was rumored that Cohen’s decision to step down early from his role as councilman, leaving the door open for a quick special election, was influenced by the all-powerful, so-called “Bronx Democratic [Party] Machine.” The assemblyman is a powerful player in the party and was friendly with Cohen. The Democratic Party nominates various candidates for judgeships. Cohen had twice been denied a nomination before 2021. Cohen, the assemblyman, Eric Dinowitz and the Bronx Democratic Party deny any unfairness around the process.

 

Herbert-Guggenheim continued, “This movement is in the spirit of the Unity Democratic Club and, interestingly, in line with the original vision of the Benjamin Franklin Club’s own founding member, Oliver Koppell.” She added how she previously had the opportunity to sit with and learn from Koppell.

 

Herbert-Guggenheim is a former vice-president of the Unity Democratic Club, a breakaway club founded in conjunction with some former members of the BFRDC, another northwest Bronx-based Democratic club. Fellow UDC member, Abigail Martin, had previously run successfully for the District 11 council seat in 2021, in a competitive multi-candidate race.

 

Some residents in Norwood and Bedford Park have an issue with the fact that District 11 has always been represented by a council member from its richer areas like Riverdale, where the quality of life is very different. Crime, for example, is much lower, sanitation and the quality of housing is better, and the average income is higher according to various statistics.

 

Guggenheim-Herbert added, “I ran to fight for a Bronx we want our children to inherit: a safer, cleaner, greener, more affordable Bronx, a Bronx that lives by the American principle that ‘we leave no one behind,’ a Bronx that understands I am not doing well if my neighbor isn’t.”

 

The runner-up candidate said that meant being honest, given “The Bronx faces real, systemic problems,” which she said demanded “bold, inclusive solutions.” She continued, “Our elected leaders must not only manage the status quo, but also inspire. They must give Bronxites something real to vote for, not just a slate endorsed by insiders.”

 

Herbert-Guggenheim continued, “If they don’t, then the ‘high voter turnout’ in this primary will mask the deeper erosion of civic trust and future ‘clean sweeps’ will be little more than Pyrrhic victories as we lose more voters to indifference.”

 

She concluded, “The work continues, and so does the coalition we began to build.”