Jay Lefkowitz on New York City’s Democratic Primary

The Tikvah Podcast

Tikvah

Judaism, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.6 • 620 Ratings

🗓️ 20 June 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On June 24, members of New York City’s Democratic party will select their nominee for the mayoral election that is scheduled to take place in November of this year. As of last year, 56 percent of registered voters in New York were Democrats, but even that number doesn’t fully express the extent of the Democratic party’s hold over the city’s affairs. Democrats hold a supermajority on the city council and control the three major citywide offices—mayor, comptroller, and public advocate—and all three of New York City’s congressional representatives are Democrats. New York is a Democratic city, and it is widely believed that the winner of the Democratic primary will be heavily favored in the fall vote. Even though the official election isn’t until November, the most important element in that election will be determined next week.

Because New York remains the most important Jewish city in the United States, next week’s primary election will have outsized consequences for more Jews than any other municipal election. To discuss the candidates and to explore the Jewish questions that are going to be put before the next mayor, Jonathan Silver is joined by Jay Lefkowitz, a senior partner at Kirkland and Ellis, an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, and a member of Tikvah’s board of trustees. Lefkowitz also served the George W. Bush administration as the United States envoy on human rights in North Korea and the deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy.The conversation touches on anti-Israel and anti-Jewish violence, domestic terror, and education and funding in haredi schools—all of which are election issues in way or another—and on what matters most to Jewish voters.

The conversation touches on anti-Israel and anti-Jewish violence, domestic terror, and education and funding in haredi schools—all of which are election issues in way or another—and on what matters most to Jewish voters.

Transcript

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0:00.0	On June 24th, members of New York City's Democratic Party will select their nominee for the mayoral election
0:21.9	that is then scheduled to take place in November of this year. As of last year,
0:28.0	56% of registered voters in New York were Democrats, but even that number does not fully express
0:34.2	the control of the Democratic Party in the conduct of the city's affairs.
0:39.1	Democrats hold a supermajority on the city council, control the three major citywide offices,
0:44.9	mayor, controller, and public advocate, and all three of New York City's congressional
0:49.8	representatives are Democrats. New York is a Democratic city, and it is widely believed that the winner
0:56.6	of the Democratic primary will be heavily favored in the fall vote. So even though the official
1:02.2	election isn't until November, the most important element in that election will be determined
1:07.7	next week. And because New York remains the most important Jewish city in the
1:12.7	United States, next week's primary election will have outsized consequences for more Jews than any
1:19.2	other municipal election. Welcome to the Tikva podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver. My guest this week is
1:25.7	Jay Lefkowitz, a senior partner at Kirkland and Ellis,
1:28.9	and an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School. Jay's a member of Tikva's Board of Trustees,
1:34.2	and he served in the George W. Bush administration as the U.S. envoy on human rights in North Korea,
1:39.4	and a deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. We discuss the leading Democratic candidates and
1:45.4	explore the Jewish questions that are going to be put before the next mayor, from anti-Israel and
1:50.5	anti-Jewish violence and domestic terror to education and funding in Haredi schools, to the campus chaos.
1:57.2	We discuss the Jewish vote and what different elements within that vote seem to value.
2:02.4	And through this, we try to dimension the stakes of the primary for the future of Jewish New York.
2:07.9	If you enjoy this conversation, you can subscribe to the Tikva podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify.
2:13.9	I hope you leave us a five-star review to help us grow this community of ideas.
	...

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