Bill Perkins
Perkins speaking in 2008
Member of the New York City Council
from the 9th district
In office
March 1, 2017 – December 31, 2021
Preceded byInez Dickens
Succeeded byKristin Richardson Jordan
In office
January 1, 1998 – December 31, 2005
Preceded byC. Virginia Fields
Succeeded byInez Dickens
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 30th district
In office
January 1, 2007 – February 28, 2017
Preceded byDavid Paterson
Succeeded byBrian Benjamin
Personal details
Born(1949-04-18)April 18, 1949
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedMay 16, 2023(2023-05-16) (aged 74)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materBrown University

William Morris Perkins[1] (April 18, 1949 – May 16, 2023) was an American politician from the state of New York. A Democrat, he served in the New York City Council from the 9th district from 2017 to 2021. The district includes portions of Harlem in Manhattan. Perkins formerly represented the same seat from 1998 to 2005, and was a member of the New York State Senate for the 30th District from 2007 to 2017.

Early life and education

Perkins was born and raised in Harlem, a neighborhood in Manhattan. He attended Collegiate School[2] on a scholarship before receiving a scholarship to Brown University.[3] He graduated from Brown in 1972.[4]

Political career

New York City Council (1998–2005)

In 1997, Perkins was first elected to the New York City Council, winning the seat easily after losing the Democratic nomination for the Council three times previously. On the Council, Perkins served as Deputy Majority Leader, and championed the lead paint laws that required New York City residences to be tested for hazardous conditions.[5] He also ran for Manhattan Borough President in 2005, and lost the primary to Scott Stringer.[6]

New York State Senate (2007–2017)

Term-limited from the Council in 2005, Perkins opted to seek election to the New York State Senate in 2006, where he won.[7] Bill Perkins endorsed United States Senator Barack Obama over U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[1]

He was re-elected five times and served for more ten years before resigning to retake his seat on the New York City Council. Perkins also ran briefly to succeed Charles Rangel in the United States House of Representatives in 2016, but later dropped out.[8]

In 2015 Perkins, was one of a number of Black activists who met with Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, in Harlem. He was quoted as saying, “We recognize that in the person of Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, we have an exceptional leader!”[9]

Perkins was one of the few New York lawmakers who endorsed Bernie Sanders and not Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[10]

New York City Council (2017–2021)

In 2016, Councilmember Inez Dickens, who had succeeded Perkins on the New York City Council, announced that she would forgo her last year on the Council to run for a vacant seat in the New York State Assembly.[11] After Dickens won the Assembly seat, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called a February 14, 2017, special election to fill her vacated seat on the City Council. Perkins announced that he would be a candidate and won the election with over 33% of the vote. He was sworn into office on March 1, 2017.[12]

Perkins won a full four-year term in the November 2017 general election.[13]

On January 31, 2019, Perkins was transported to a hospital by authorities "after neighbors called the police on him for acting erratically in his Manhattan home". At the time, the Daily News reported that Perkins was receiving treatment for colon cancer and that various constituents and colleagues had expressed concern about his health and his continued fitness to hold public office.[14] In June 2021, Gothamist published a piece on Perkins entitled "As Worries Persist Over Harlem Lawmaker's Health, Elected Leaders Stay Mum".[15]

Perkins sought re-election to the City Council in 2021.[15] The June 22, 2021, Democratic primary[16] in Council District 9 was so close that a recount was held.[15] On August 9, 2021, Perkins conceded the primary election to Kristin Richardson Jordan, a democratic socialist, and announced that he would retire at the end of the year.[17][18]

Electoral history

Election history
Location Year Election Results
NYC Council
District 17		 2017 Non-partisan special election √ Bill Perkins 33.95%
Marvin Holland 28.38%
Athena Moore 14.81%
Larry Scott Blackmon 11.84%
Cordell Cleare 9.51%
Dawn Simmons 5.15%
Charles Cooper 3.05%
Todd Stevens 1.59%
Caprice Alves 1.49%
NYC Council
District 17		 2017 Democratic Primary √ Bill Perkins 49.87%
Marvin Holland 19.59%
Cordell Cleare 17.45%
Tyson-Lord Gray 8.33%
Marvin Spruill 2.35%
Julius Tajiddin 1.94%
NYC Council
District 17		 2017 General √ Bill Perkins (D) 78.17%
Tyson-Lord Gray (Liberal) 12.94%
Dianne Mack (Harlem Matters) 4.40%
Jack Royster (R) 2.46%
Pierre Gooding (Reform) 1.72%

Death

Perkins died in New York City on May 16, 2023, at the age of 74.[19]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 Roberts, Sam (May 19, 2023). "Bill Perkins, Defender of His Harlem Constituents, Dies at 74". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Winter Convocation Honors the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr". Collegiate School. January 28, 2013.
  3. ↑ "- Bill Perkins". council.nyc.gov. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020.
  4. ↑ https://council.nyc.gov/bill-perkins/pb/9/ "He...was awarded a scholarship to Collegiate Preparatory School in Manhattan and later a scholarship to Brown University. After graduating from Brown in 1972...Bill returned to New York" (Bill Perkins' biography on the NY City Council website)
  5. ↑ "Bill Perkins wins District Council #9 special election". February 16, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  6. ↑ Cooper, Michael (September 14, 2005). "Scott Stringer Wins a Crowded Primary and a Likely Election as Borough President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Our Campaigns - NY State Senate 30 Race - Nov 07, 2006". Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Harlem Community Board Chairman Eyes Vacant State Senate Seat - Central Harlem - DNAinfo New York". Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  9. ↑ Planas, Roque (September 29, 2015). "Black Activists Honor Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro In Harlem". HuffPost.
  10. ↑ "KING: Senators in Harlem, Queens support Sanders — EXCLUSIVE". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Bill Perkins Reclaims Harlem City Council Seat. What Next?". HuffPost. February 23, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Our Campaigns - New York City Council 09 Special Race - Feb 14, 2017". Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Election Results: De Blasio Wins Second Term as New York City Mayor". The New York Times. December 20, 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
  14. ↑ Light, Jillian Jorgensen, Mikey. "NYC Councilman Bill Perkins taken to hospital after neighbors called police on him for acting erratically". nydailynews.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. 1 2 3 Cruz, David (July 22, 2021). "As Worries Persist Over Harlem Lawmaker's Health, Elected Leaders Stay Mum". Gothamist.
  16. ↑ "2021 New York City Council primary election results". City & State NY.
  17. ↑ "Bill Perkins concedes Council primary, will retire at end of year". www.ny1.com.
  18. ↑ Olumhense, Ese (August 13, 2021). "Results of Recounted NYC Council Races to be Certified Tuesday, As Bill Perkins Concedes Defeat in Harlem". City Limits.
  19. ↑ Saltonstall, Gus (May 16, 2023). "Bill Perkins, Longtime Harlem Elected Official, Dead At 74". Patch. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.