Alice Cancel

Alice Cancel is the former Assembly member for the 65th District of the New York State Assembly. She is a Democrat. The district included the neighborhoods of the Lower East Side, East Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, SoHo, TriBeCa, the Financial District, Battery Park and Governor's Island in Manhattan. In 2016, Cancel was defeated in the Democratic primary for her seat by Yuh-Line Niou.

Alice Cancel
Member of the New York Assembly from the 65th District
In office May 10, 2016 – December 31, 2016
Preceded by	Sheldon Silver
Succeeded by	Yuh-Line Niou
Personal details
Born	Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	John Quinn
Children	3
Website	Official website

Life and career

Born in Puerto Rico, Cancel was raised in the South Bronx and on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.[1] She has long been active in Democratic politics, serving as a District Leader in her community for over twenty-five years. Prior to election to the Assembly, Cancel worked in the New York Senate as well as for New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer.[2]

Cancel is married to John Quinn, who is a longtime labor leader in New York City.[3]

New York Assembly

Former Speaker Sheldon Silver was found guilty of corruption in 2015 and was forced to relinquish the seat he held in the New York Assembly for nearly forty years, opening up the seat for a special election. As a result, the Manhattan Democratic party and local district leaders were provided with the opportunity to select the Democratic candidate to run in the April 19, 2016 special election.[4]

Numerous candidates stepped up to seek the nomination for the safely Democratic 65th Assembly District, including Cancel, in what proved to be a very contentious process. Amid controversy, the leaders ultimately chose Cancel, who some had accused of being hand-picked by Silver and his supporters to replace him despite being underfunded compared to her competitors.[5]

In the election, Cancel faced Republican Lester Chang, Green Party candidate Dennis Levy and Working Families Party candidate Yuh-Line Niou, who had outraised Cancel overwhelmingly and was seen as a candidate who could make the race close. Cancel was out spent 100 to one and her opponents received more political endorsements than Cancel did.[6] In surprisingly closely watched race, Cancel ultimately won the election with 41% of the vote, besting Niou by 1,034 votes, with Chang and Levy together taking 23%.[7]

Cancel was sworn into office on May 10, 2016. She ran again in the 2016 primary election to retain her seat for a full, two-year term but was defeated by Niou. Cancel remained a candidate in the general election on the Womens Equality Party Line, but lost again to Niou in the November 8 general election.[8][9]

References

1. "Alice Cancel wins special election to take Sheldon Silver's state Assembly seat". PIX 11 News. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
2. "Sheldon Silver's successor, Alice Cancel, takes office in Assembly". Daily News. 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
3. "Alice Cancel, Sheldon Silver's Chosen Successor, Takes His Assembly Seat". Observer. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
4. "Alice Cancel Sworn In as Lower Manhattan Assembly Member". The Lo-Down. 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
5. "Silver crony Alice Cancel wins his state Assembly seat". New York Post. 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
6. "Democrat Alice Cancel Wins Sheldon Silver's Old NYS Assembly Seat". CBS New York. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
7. "Alice Cancel Wins Sheldon's Silver Former Assembly Seat". DNAinfo. 2016-04-19. Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
8. "Bossed around, again: The special election to fill Sheldon Silver's seat is a sham". Daily News. 2016-04-19. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-11-10. Retrieved 2016-11-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Sheldon Silver	New York Assembly, 65th District 2016	Succeeded by Yuh-Line Niou