Despite his title, Manhattan Democratic Party leader Keith Wright says he has spent the past few years in a political 'wilderness.' Then last week, Yusef Salaam — a candidate that Wright recruited — pulled off a historic upset in Harlem.
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023.Moments before Yusef Salaam declared victory Tuesday night, in a primary upset for the Harlem history books, the electricity surging through the crowd wasn’t just for the candidate. It was also for Keith Wright.
And while his victory is partially a story of a new contender knocking out a heavyweight in Harlem’s political establishment, it’s also a comeback tale for Wright, 68, the man who mentored him. “Obviously a man of intelligence. Obviously a man of passion,” Wright said of his protegé on election night. “But you know what came across? The prodigal son that has returned.”Michelle Bocanegra/GothamistWright said he asked Salaam to consider running for the Council seat in the summer of 2022, because of dissatisfaction within Harlem with then-Councilmember, Kristin Richardson Jordan.
But Salaam’s win is a victory for a younger cadre of political leaders which has long groaned under the weight of legacy names like Rangel and Paterson. Political experts blamed the lack of younger leaders for Harlem’s displacement as the center of Black politics in New York City and the U.S. That center has now shifted to Brooklyn with the ascendancy of Mayor Adams, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Attorney General Letitia James, among others.
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