NYC Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan not seeking reelection after rocky first term

Freshman City Councilmember Kristin Richardson Jordan announced Tuesday she won’t seek reelection — an abrupt about-face that comes after a tumultuous first term for the left-wing lawmaker.

“Unfortunately, I am writing this to inform you that I have decided not to seek re-election and not commit to another two years,” Richardson Jordan wrote in an Instagram post.

A self-identified Black socialist and police abolitionist, Richardson Jordan did not offer a specific reason for why she’s dropping out of the race for her Harlem-based 9th Council District just a few weeks before the June 27 primary election. She did not return phone calls and text messages Tuesday morning.

She wrote in her Instagram post that she looks “forward to finishing out this term.”

“As always, whether in a seat or not in a seat, I am here and look forward to continuing to fight alongside you for community care, economic justice, abolition, liberation, and radical societal change,” she wrote.

With Richardson-Jordan out of the picture, State Assemblyman Al Taylor, State Assemblywoman Inez Dickens and criminal justice advocate Yusef Salaam are the only Democratic candidates left in the race for the 9th Council District.

Taylor and Dicken did not immediately return requests for comment on Richardson-Jordan’s announcement.

Salaam, who was as a teenager wrongfully convicted as part of the Central Park Five case, issued a statement thanking Richardson Jordan “for her service and commitment to the Harlem community we call home.”

“This race is about the future of Harlem and I am running because we need real change that lifts up our seniors, gives people opportunities, improves our schools, enhances public safety and creates affordable housing,” Salaam said.

Richardson-Jordan, 36, was elected in 2021 in an upset victory over longtime Harlem politician Bill Perkins, who at the time was facing concerns about his fitness to serve due to health issues.

In a tragic twist, Pamela Green Perkins, the late ex-Councilman’s wife, announced Tuesday that he has died.

“After a lifetime fighting for justice, equality and to make the voices of our community heard, my husband, former City Councilman and State Senator Perkins died at home in Harlem, the community he loved and fought for his entire life,” she wrote in a statement. “May he rest in peace and in power.”

As a member of the Council, Richardson-Jordan attracted controversy.

Shortly after taking office in January 2022, she faced outrage after offering her “deepest condolences” to the family of Lashawn McNeil, an ex-con who was fatally shot by police after killing two NYPD officers in Harlem.

Weeks later, she was again back in the headlines when she thumbed out a string of tweets blaming the U.S. for Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine. She has since deleted her Twitter account.

In Harlem, some community leaders also fumed over her decision to use her Council authority to block the development of the One45 housing complex.

Richardson-Jordan has faced scrutiny from her fellow Council members, too, for neglecting to show up for nearly 20% of the votes she’s had an opportunity to cast.

A Council source who spoke on condition of anonymity to be candid said Richardson-Jordan’s “chronic absence” in the chamber did not do her any favors with her colleagues.