2025 Primary Election

Julie Menin was elected to the Council after a career in both the public and private sectors. She served in multiple commissioner roles under Mayor de Blasio and as the City’s 2020 Census Director before she initially ran for Council in 2021. On the Council, she chairs the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection and focuses much of her legislative work on small businesses. She has co-sponsored several election-reform measures and, in our questionnaire, expressed support for every item on CU’s reform agenda. A potential candidate for Speaker next term, Menin told CU that she would support putting bills with strong support from Council Members to a floor vote regardless of the Speaker’s position, an important step forward. Citizens Union is impressed by her commitment to reform and by the clarity and depth of her understanding. We therefore prefer her in the Council District 5 race.

Collin Thompson’s career has been devoted to education. He has been a teacher, dean, and principal at schools both in Harlem and the Bronx. He has also served as an advisor to public school superintendents nationwide, specializing in education equity and strategic improvement. Thompson supported all of CU’s reform agenda on the questionnaire except for shifting to open primaries. CU was impressed with his pursuit of ideals, commends him for his tenacity, and encourages him to continue being civically involved in his community.