Mary Silver

Mary Silver

Democratic Party

Education

Bachelor's

Hofstra University

Graduate

New York University

Law

New York University

Ph.D

New York University

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Personal website

Mary Silver was a Democratic candidate for District 2 representative on the New York City Council in New York. She was defeated in the primary election on September 12, 2017. Click here to read Silver's response to Ballotpedia's 2017 municipal candidate survey.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Silver earned a B.A. from Hofstra University and a J.D. and a Ph.D. from New York University.

At the time of her 2017 run for city council, Silver was an attorney. Her professional experience includes work for KPMG, the New York University School of Continuing & Professional Studies, the New York University School of Law, and the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. She has also served as a PTA president, an officer for New York City School District 2's Community Education Council, and a member of Community Board 6 and the community advisory boards for the 30th Street Shelter and Mainchance Drop-In Center.

Elections

2017

See also: Mayoral election in New York, New York (2017) and Municipal elections in New York, New York (2017)

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for the District 2 seat on the New York City Council.

New York City Council, District 2 Democratic Primary Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Carlina Rivera	60.54%	8,354
Mary Silver	16.54%	2,282
Ronnie Cho	8.56%	1,181
Jorge Vasquez	7.54%	1,040
Jasmin Sanchez	4.62%	638
Erin Hussein	1.93%	267
Write-in votes	0.28%	38
Total Votes		13,800
Source: New York City Board of Elections, "2017 Primary: Certified Results," accessed September 28, 2017

Campaign themes

2017

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

Silver participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Improvements to public education.	”
—Mary Silver (September 1, 2017)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important: city services (trash, utilities, etc.), civil rights, crime reduction/prevention, environment, government transparency, homelessness, housing, K-12 education, public pensions/retirement funds, recreational opportunities, transportation, and unemployment. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important.

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue	Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	K-12 education	7	Government transparency
2	Housing	8	Crime reduction/prevention
3	Homelessness	9	Unemployment
4	Transportation	10	Recreational opportunities
5	City services (trash, utilities, etc.)	11	Environment
6	Civil rights	12	Public pensions/retirement funds

Nationwide municipal issues

The candidate was asked to answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions.

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?Answer options: Not important; Not important, but required by state law; A little important; A little important, but required by state law; Important; Very important	Important
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?Answer options: None, Local, State, Federal	Local
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Changing zoning restrictions, Create a more competitive business climate, Focusing on small business development, Instituting a citywide minimum wage, Recruiting new businesses to your city, Regulatory and licensing reforms, and tax reform	Focusing on small business development
What is the one thing you’re most proud of about your city?	I am most proud of our diversity, our acceptance of all backgrounds is what makes us strong. (And bagels.)
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about your city?	New York City needs equity and excellence in our public schools. Our schools are overcrowded, underfunded, and segregated along race and class lines. As the next City Council Member I would fight to change this. Public education is a civil right.
Do you approve of the city's approach to policing and public safety? What changes, if any, do you think the city should make?	No. I believe we need to move away from broken windows policing and adopt a community policing model. We are sending too many people to jail for petty crimes, and failing to protect our neighborhoods when it matters most.
Do you approve of the city's sanctuary policy? What changes, if any, do you think the city should make?	Yes, I approve. Under the Trump administration it is imperative that New York City defend our immigrant population from the threat of deportation.
Do you approve of the city's approach to public transportation? What changes, if any, do you think the city should make?	No. We need significant investment from the City, State, and Federal government in order to make necessary capital improvements and expand access, particularly for New Yorkers living with disabilities.
Do you approve of the city's approach to housing policy? What changes, if any, do you think the city should make?	No. I am opposed to NexGen NYCHA infill development, i.e. the privatization of public land. We are facing an affordability crisis and must use all land available to build more affordable and supportive housing.

Additional themes

Silver's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Supports resiliency solutions and support for small businesses; industry-wide efforts that build and protect communities, create jobs and improve quality of life; economic justice. ON EDUCATION Supports class-size reduction; strong and equitable neighborhood schools; new school construction; increased STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) education; after-school programs; parent involvement. ON ENVIRONMENT Supports safe and improved parkland and open space; increased access to the East River waterfront; improving our city’s air quality by addressing building and construction dust and debris and transportation emissions; street tree planting to offset climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emission pollutants; the East Side Coastal Resiliency project to reduce coastal flooding and social resiliency along the East River waterfront; energy efficiency. ON EQUALITY Supports the promotion and protection of human rights, including LGBTQ rights, women's rights, children's rights, civil rights, disability rights, and minority rights; gender identity and expression as protected classes; protections against religious discrimination; social and economic justice for seniors. ON HOUSING Supports the development and protection of middle and low-income affordable housing; the right to counsel in Housing Court for low-income individuals; tenants’ rights protections and enforcement; well-managed nonprofit supportive housing. ON IMMIGRATION Supports protections for immigrants seeking services and assistance with citizenship and residency applications; immigration reform; sanctuary city protections; health and adult literacy initiatives; language access services. ON SENIORS Supports funding for senior centers; increased SCRIE and DRIE awareness and application assistance; senior tenant harassment protection; health, wellness and legal services; fraud and abuse protection. ON THE ARTS Supports expanding investment in the city's arts and artists, including independent theater and performing arts; creating affordable arts/performance space and artist live/work housing; investing in arts education, facilities and equipment in all public schools; building educational arts partnerships; increasing the city's Percent for Art program. ON TRANSPORTATION Supports mass transit improvements and expansion; more real-time information for commuters; L train rider alternatives; bicycle-free sidewalks; Midtown tunnel traffic and noise relief.	”
—Mary Silver's campaign website, (2017)

Endorsements

2017

Silver received endorsements from the following in 2017:

• New York Daily News
• Council of School Supervisors and Administrators
• New American Democratic Club
• New American Women's Forum
• New American Youth Forum
• Stonewall Veterans Association

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Mary Silver New York City Council. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Mary Silver - Google News

See also

New York, New York	New York	Municipal government	Other local coverage

External links

Suggest a link

• New York City Council
• Campaign website
• Social media
  • Facebook
  • Twitter