The race to succeed gay New York City Council member Eric Bottcher was decided last night, as the top heterosexual candidate conceded.

Bottcher’s gay former chief of staff, Carl Wilson, 35, will complete his boss’s term, since Bottcher won a special election to serve in the New York State Senate earlier this year.

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Preliminary totals show 43% for Wilson vs. 26% for his opponent, Lindsey Boylan. Official results in the ranked-choice election will come next week.

Wilson declared victory in a statement, saying, “While we are waiting to count every vote, the numbers tonight are clear.”

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District 3 on the West Side of Manhattan runs from Hell’s Kitchen to Greenwich Village, an area that includes the historically gay neighborhood of Chelsea and runs alongside the Broadway theatre district. The seat has been held by a gay representative since 1991.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani threw that distinction briefly into doubt when he endorsed Boylan, 42, a straight Democratic Socialist (DSA) ally. Boylan came to prominence as the first of several women to accuse Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment in 2020.

Mamdani’s endorsement created a proxy battle between the mayor and City Council Speaker Julie Menin, a moderate Democrat who has been at odds with the new mayor over elements of his agenda.

Menin endorsed Wilson, who pledged to join the council’s progressive caucus if elected. Boylan has been a staunch supporter of Mamdani and joined the DSA after his primary win last summer.

The dual endorsements sparked debate over representation in a district that’s home to the Stonewall National Monument and is a longtime bastion for gay and transgender residents and visitors.

“There have been wonderful queer people elected from the district over the last 30-some years,” said Cynthia Nixon, the lesbian actress and activist, who threw her support and celebrity behind Boylan. “But I feel now and have always felt we should be voting for people not based on their identity, but based on who they are.”

That incongruous explanation describes the tightrope officials and the candidates’ backers walked, where support for either candidate risked alienating overlapping, deep blue constituencies.

“I am way more than just a gay candidate — way more,” Wilson told The New York Times earlier this year. “I’m also the candidate with the longest track record of on-the-ground service in this district and the experience to deliver from Day 1.”

Based on city government experience alone, Wilson had a decided advantage building relationships in City Hall as Bottcher’s longtime chief of staff. Boylan had a high profile with previous experience as a candidate, in two losing races — one for Congress in 2020 and another for Manhattan borough president in 2021 — and her work as deputy secretary for economic development and special advisor for Cuomo before coming out publicly with her sexual harassment allegations.

Voters ultimately chose the gay candidate in the prominently LGBTQ+ district, bearing out Wilson’s observation that being gay was “not a requirement” for the seat, though adding, “It’s an important perspective.”

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