Week 1: Meet the Candidates & Interest Groups

Fashion Coverage: Kickoff Rally

by Berlin Catalán and Ashley Kodowa

The 2021 Election Simulation Kickoff Rally featured many of our candidates for City Council, Public Advocate, Comptroller, and Mayor, as they took to the stage to present their backgrounds and political stances on Wednesday, September 29th. Arguably more captivating than their enthusiasm were their outfits, as all of them are already making statements from day one of their campaigns.

For starters, many candidates chose to take the traditional route with their outfits. James Reilly, the Republican candidate for City Council District 23, definitely utilizes this more simple approach by sticking with a black blazer, pants and shoes and a white shirt, which perfectly complement each other. Likewise, Yu-Ching Pai, the Republican candidate for City Council, starts off with both a black blazer, dress pants and shoes, with a white button up with a simple red tie underneath.

However, others decided to play with color schemes. Sandra Ung, the Democratic candidate for a City Council seat for District 20, entered with a neutral beige look. Her outfit includes a plaid blazer, light khaki pants and white converse shoes. This outfit flowed very smoothly, with the originality and color scheme allowing this candidate to stand out among the others in the rally. Likewise, Daby B. Carreras, running for the position of NYC Comptroller, wore a blue blazer, blue button up shirt and red tie. He added his own take on the outfit, wearing khaki bottoms instead.

City Council Candidates Marvin Jeffcoat and Tiffany Cabán take a somewhat rebellious approach by not opting for any fancy blazers. While they may not have been dressed very well for the windy weather, they still managed to make a statement, breaking the trend of traditional suit-and-tie attire that was flowing throughout the rally while still maintaining a sense of professionalism. Marvin Jeffcoat’s outfit consisted of a white button-up and navy blue pants, all finished off with a subtle polka dot pattern against a bright red tie. Tiffany Cabán’s all-black outfit consisted of a tucked dress shirt, simple pants and chelsea boots. She really stood out when her supporters on the right flashed the big, colorful pride flag next to her outfit, which represents her identification with the LGBTQ+ community as a queer Latina candidate.

Now, let's finally get to one of the most iconic outfits of them all: Republican Mayoral Candidate, Curtis Sliwa starts off with a blue blazer to go along with his blue dress pants, adding a touch of brown and a mixed color tie. In addition, he follows up the look with a blazing red beret, which screams French flair. But in actuality, his beret, which he is almost never seen without, is symbolic of the Guardian Angels, an interest group he founded that patrols the subways to protect citizens from crime.

Overall, everyone quite a bold fashion statement from head to toe. It’s only the kickoff rally, so let’s be careful not to judge too early, as we await more to come. We think we all can say that we are all excited for what is to come for the next political event—more information, more interactions, and more exciting outfits!

Weekly Quiz

1. Who is the Republican Candidate running for NYC Council District 26?

A. Marvin Jeffcoat

B. James Reilly

C. Daby.B

D. Yu-Ching Pai

2. Which Mayoral candidate is vegan?

A. Eric Adams

B. Julie Won

C. Tiffany Caban

D. Curtis Silwa

3. Which interest group is candidate Tiffany Caban endorsed by?

A. Working Families Party

B. NYS Rifle and Pistol Association

C. Association of Police Organizations

D. Guardian Angels

4. Daby Carreras developed which organization?

A. Guardian Angels

B. BRANDO

C. Black Lives Matter

D. Red Cross

5. On which radio station did Curtis Sliwa have a radio talk show?

A. iHeartRadio

B. Sirius XM

C. WABC

D. Spotify

Political Memes

BY: Neethanel Bravo, Andy Gao and Rakeily Martinez