Former Metropolis Council Member Ari Kagan is weighing a political comeback as Brooklyn Republicans think about a sequence of seat swaps forward of the upcoming elections.
Picture by Ethan Stark-Miller
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Former New York Metropolis Council Member Ari Kagan is eyeing a doable political comeback this election season as Brooklyn’s Republican officers look to have interaction in a sequence of seat swaps between metropolis and state authorities.
Reviews earlier this month indicated that Kagan, who switched from the Democratic to the Republican Get together in 2022, has filed a committee to run for the District 48 Metropolis Council seat, presently held by Council Member Inna Vernikov, neighboring his former district.
Nevertheless, a direct contest between the 2 conservatives is unlikely. NYC Council Minority Chief Joann Ariola beforehand advised the New York Put up that Kagan would formally announce whether or not he’s working in April when Vernikov is anticipated to announce her candidacy for the state Senate.
In line with a supply throughout the Brooklyn GOP, Vernikov’s plans hinge on the result of the March 25 particular election for the New York State Senate’s twenty second District. That seat is presently held by Simcha Felder, who’s working for Metropolis Council in District 44 following the election of sitting Council Member Kalman Yeger to the state Meeting in November.
A consultant for Vernikov didn’t return requests for touch upon her political plans.
Council Member Inna Vernikov.Picture courtesy of John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit
Kagan, presently working with lately elected State Sen. Steve Chan, has remained reserved about his political aspirations. When requested by Brooklyn Paper about his intentions, he acknowledged solely that his main ambition is “to make the Republican Party stronger” in Brooklyn.
Kagan misplaced his Metropolis Council seat in 2023 throughout a showdown with Democrat Justin Brannan for District 47. The district, which beforehand included Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Coney Island, and Sea Gate, was rezoned in 2022 to include elements of Tub Seashore and Bay Ridge. The adjustments merged areas from each candidates’ former districts, prompting Brannan, the incumbent in District 43, to run as a substitute in District 47.
Brooklyn Republicans have seen rising momentum lately, bolstered by robust showings for President Donald Trump within the borough’s southern neighborhoods. Brooklyn GOP Chairman Richard Barsamian described the social gathering’s rising presence as “a mandate of common sense and reality.”
In 2022, a Republican wave flipped three long-held Democratic Meeting seats, and the social gathering gained additional traction in 2023, unseating Democratic State Sen. Iwen Chu in District 17.
The shift has been pushed partially by assist from Brooklyn’s immigrant communities, notably in Latino, Asian, and Russian-speaking neighborhoods with areas reminiscent of Brighton Seashore, Sheepshead Bay, Borough Park, and Bensonhurst leaning extra conservative, contributing to a GOP stronghold in Brooklyn.
