Harlem Council Race: Salaam, Taylor Partner + Inez's Degree Questioned

HARLEM, NY — Early voting for the Harlem City Council District 9 race begins on Saturday and there have been a variety of developments between the three remaining candidates.

Assembly Member Inez Dickens, Assembly Member Al Taylor and Yusef Salaam, member of the exonerated Central Park 5, are vying to replace Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan, who announced in May that she would no longer be seeking re-election.

Here's what to know about new developments heading into the start of early voting and Election Day on June 27.

Taylor and Salaam Forge a Partnership

On Tuesday, Taylor and Salaam announced that they would be cross-ranking each other on their ballots, and urged their supporters to do the same.

The District 9 election will be done through Ranked Choice Voting, meaning voters will rank up to three candidates on the ballot.

If one person gets more than half of the first-place votes they win, but if no candidate reaches the majority, a run off takes place where if a voter's top pick has the least amount of first place votes, that candidate gets eliminated and the voter's second-choice pick gets counted.

Salaam will rank Taylor second on his ballot and Taylor will do the same for Salaam.

“Harlem is facing many challenges and we both agree that it is time for change and that we need leaders who will be on the ground every day, in the community, listening to the voices of our neighbors," the two candidates said in a joint statement. "To meet the challenges of the future, we need to build and protect truly and deeply affordable housing and protect tenants facing eviction from greedy landlords."

While the statement does not mention Dickens by name, multiple sections appear to be clear references to the longtime Harlem elected official.

A "time for change" could be in relation to Dickens' long political career in Harlem, who was first elected to the same City Council District 9 position in 2006.

Dickens Questioned Over Howard Degree and Eviction History

Dickens is considered the favorite by many people close to the race, and has secured the endorsements of Rep. Adriano Espaillat, former Rep. Charles Rangel, Mayor Eric Adams, the United Federation of Teachers, and the Greater Harlem Coalition.

However, in the last week, stories have surfaced questioning her degree from Howard University and her history of evicting tenants as a landlord.

Dickens' official Assembly website reads that she "completed her studies at Howard University," but the New York Post uncovered that the elected official has never actually completed a degree from the historic school.

Her campaign confirmed to the New York Post that she never received a degree from Howard, and explained the discrepancies to "simple errors."

In a debate on Tuesday night, Dickens falsely claimed she had not evicted anybody during her time at 1389 Construction Corp, of which she serves as president.

That's not true, though, as the company has filed at least 17 evictions since 1987, including five since 2013, according to reporting by City and State.

Dickens later did clarify in the debate that she had evicted one tenant, but because he had asked in order to help with getting "assistance to get his rent paid."

You can find your Early Voting poll site by entering your address into the Board of Election's website — HERE.