Councilmember Richardson Jordan won’t seek re-election amid tough fight in Harlem district

Councilmember Kristin Richardson Jordan, the embattled incumbent in the competitive District 9 race in Harlem, will not seek re-election, she announced Tuesday morning.

The move is a significant shakeup in a race that already promises to be one of the most competitive of the season. Two other elected officials, Assemblymember Inez Dickens and Assemblymember Al Taylor, are vying for the seat, as is Yusef Salaam, a political newcomer and member of the exonerated Central Park Five.

“Unfortunately I am writing this to inform you that I have decided not to seek re-election and not to commit to another two years,” Richardson Jordan said on her Instagram account Tuesday. “I want to thank all those who have stood in solidarity and all volunteers for your time and hard work. I look forward to finishing out this term.”

The incumbent’s path to victory in the June 27 primary has winnowed in recent months. She has faced an outpouring of criticism over her opposition to the One45 mixed-use development in Harlem, which would have dedicated a share of its units to income-restricted affordable housing, which Richardson Jordan criticized as not affordable enough. It is now a truck depot. One of the most important roles the Council plays is approving zoning applications and local members typically have outsize sway in how the Council votes.

She has also fielded criticism over her push to defund the New York City Police Department and her comments on the war in Ukraine.

“Had Washington and Brussels taken Russia’s security concerns seriously this war wouldn’t be happening,” she said in posts on her Twitter account last year that have since been deleted. “No country wants or deserves to have foreign powers placing missiles right on its borders.”

Richardson Jordan has been overpowered in the fundraising realm, even with the platform of incumbency, being outpaced by Dickens for several months.

The now-outgoing councilmember, who was endorsed in 2021 by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political action committee, won by a narrow margin of 114 votes over the late Bill Perkins, a Harlem political veteran, in a primary election recount that year. Eleven other candidates had sought the seat in the primary.

“As always, whether in a seat or not in a seat, I am here and look forward to continuing to fight alongside you for community care, economic justice, abolition, liberation and radical societal change," Richardson Jordan said.

"Public service is one of the highest callings and I thank Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan for her service and commitment to the Harlem community we call home,” said Salaam in a statement through his campaign.

Taylor likewise applauded the sitting councilmember.

"I give my deep regards to the councilmember for what must have been a difficult and somber decision," he said in a statement through his campaign. "We run for office because we have a passion and conviction for making things better for our neighbors and communities. I respect her decision and I wish her only the best in the next chapter of her life."

Dickens' campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story has been updated with additional comment.