High Turnout Helped Chaim Deutsch Conquer the Super Russian District

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chaim-deutsch1In a Brooklyn council district that many had trumpeted as a “super-Russian” seat, the Russian-American candidate with a trace of star power was ultimately routed by 16 points Tuesday night.

Chaim Deutsch, a longtime staffer to Councilman Michael Nelson, seized the open seat, proving the clout of the district’s Orthodox Jewish community is real and growing. Mr. Deutsch will join Councilman David Greenfield as the second Orthodox Jewish member of the City Council.

“The district lines were drawn to limit their ability to elect an Orthodox council member and instead they banded together and coalesced behind a candidate with broad appeal who did well in every corner of the district,” said Joshua Melman, an organizer of the newly-formed Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition, an umbrella group of local civic organizations that boosted Mr. Deutsch.

The southern Brooklyn district, roping in heavily-Russian neighborhoods like Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay, was reconfigured in the most recent round of redistricting. More Russian enclaves were added and the Orthodox Jewish section of the district, based in Midwood, was reduced drastically. At hearings, leaders from both communities vigorously clashed and Orthodox Jewish advocates fretted that their clout would be diminished with the new lines.

As the race heated up, several well-financed Russian candidates threw their hats into the ring. After Mr. Deutsch won a divisive Democratic primary-some observers claimed he simply won because Russian candidates like Ari Kagan and Igor Oberman split the vote-he entered the general election against Republican David Storobin, a former state senator who once won a special election in the area on the strength of Russian and conservative votes. (Mr. Oberman stayed in the general election on the Working Families Party line and Russian language media mogul Gregory Davidzon also campaigned as a write-in candidate, perhaps further siphoning votes from Mr. Storobin.)

Sources close to the race said Mr. Storobin was initially salivating at facing Mr. Deutsch, assuming the Russian vote would vault him to the City Council. But Mr. Deutsch’s campaign saw a very different race.

“The notion that the 48th Council District was a Russian district was completely overblown,” said Austin Finan, a consultant for Mr. Deutsch. “At a quick glance, it looks like a heavily Russian district. But the enrollment is stronger among Orthodox than Russian. There’s also sizable Chinese, Pakistani, Irish and Italian communities. All came out to vote for Chaim.”

Read more at JP UPDATES.

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


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