Elaine Fan, the chief of workers on Stringer’s mayoral marketing campaign, posted the messages on a number of WeChat boards standard with Chinese language communities in New York Metropolis final weekend.
A textual content message despatched by
Elaine Fan, the chief of workers of Stringer’s mayoral marketing campaign. (Obtained by Day by day Information)
The messages urged individuals on the boards to “vote only for Scott Stringer.”
One of many boards. dubbed the Asian Wave Alliance NYC, has 240 members, per the screengrabs. A second group she posted in has 396 members, a 3rd one has 456 and a fourth one has 266.
Regardless of what Fan posted, voters within the June 24 Democratic major can rank 5 candidates so as of desire on their ballots. The ranked-choice course of was first utilized in New York Metropolis through the 2021 native elections. State regulation prohibits “acts of intimidation, deception, or obstruction that affects the right of voters” to solid their ballots.
Reached by cellphone Tuesday, Fan mentioned there are “different interpretations” of her messages, however declined additional remark.
In an announcement, Stringer spokesman Sam Raskin mentioned his boss “wasn’t aware of the creation or distribution of this graphic.”
“He supports ranked-choice voting—always has and always will—and encourages New Yorkers to use it during this month’s election,” Raskin continued. “Our campaign is committed to ensuring New Yorkers only receive accurate information and encourages all voters to participate in the upcoming election.”
Stringer’s marketing campaign additionally pointed to a message Fan despatched in one of many boards apparently trying to scrub up her feedback. Based on a translation of that message supplied by Stringer’s camp, she replied to a chat member who had accused her of being deceptive:
“That is not what I meant. Many Andrew Yang supporters voted for him five times, which is multiple choices, and that resulted in invalid ballot,” a reference to the 2021 mayoral candidate.
Fan, who was once the director Asian affairs in Gov. Hochul’s workplace, is one among Stringer’s prime aides on his mayoral marketing campaign. Marketing campaign finance information present she has pulled in additional than $120,000 in wage from the Stringer marketing campaign since August 2024.
Fan’s textual content blasts come as Stringer has struggled to realize momentum for his mayoral bid. Most up-to-date polls have proven him with single digits of assist, trailing far behind front-runner Andrew Cuomo and the No. 2 candidate Zohran Mamdani.
