D15 candidates
Some of the candidates in the district 15 race. Clockwise from top left: Blake, Mark-Viverito, Rodriguez, Newsome, Basora, Lopez, Diaz Sr., Torres.

In two weeks, one day and a few hours, the polls will close on the June 23 New York State primary, after one of the strangest periods in the recent history of Democracy in New York, during which a presidential primary was postponed, then cancelled, then restored, a special election for a borough presidency was postponed and then cancelled but will still have a primary, and all voters were invited to vote by mail.

There’s a large docket of races to be decided, from party posts to judicial seats to State Senate and Assembly districts. And there are contested primaries in 12 of the 13 Congressional districts located fully or partly within New York City.

Of those races, the only one for an open seat, and the most crowded contest, is in the 15th district in the Bronx, where Rep. Jose Serrano and 12 candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination to replace him.

In mid-May, City Limits, Gotham Gazette and The Point hosted a debate featuring eight candidates in the race. A framing document for that conversation was the Bronx People’s Platform, a set of goals and principals that several Bronx community organizations, including The Point and the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition are using to direct their engagement work this election year.

On Tuesday, June 9, there is a community-directed forum featuring Frangell Basora, Assemblymember Michael Blake, Samelys Lopez, former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Chivona Newsome, City Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez and City Councilmember Ritchie Torres.

The event is sponsored by Mekong NYC, The Point CDC, Laborers Local 79, Mothers on the Move, Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association, SHANY, LAAL, WHEDCo, the Mary Mitchell Family & Youth

Center, Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Plataforma Garífuna de Acción, Friends of Concrete Plant Park, South Bronx Unite, FIERCE, Nos Quedamos, Sistas and Brothas United, New York State Nurses Association, A.C.T.I.O.N., and the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative.

It airs live from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Facebook live.