New Deal Strategies has developed political and communications strategies for some of the biggest victories in the New York City Council primary and general elections, helping achieve the NYC’s first-ever majority-women Council.

Pierina Sanchez, District 14

In 2021, New Deal Strategies helped secure a primary and general election victory for Pierina Sanchez in NYC Council District 14.

We worked alongside Pierina’s team to craft a campaign strategy rooted in the candidate’s record, history in the community, and dedication to service in the Bronx. By executing a cohesive strategy that intertwined major political and labor endorsements, local organizing events, and bilingual press hits, New Deal Strategies helped Pierina’s team demonstrate that District 14 would have a champion with her in the NYC Council.

Tiffany Cabán, District 22

In 2019, Tiffany built a local and national profile with her revolutionary run for Queens’ District Attorney. In doing so, she radically changed the conversation around criminal legal system reform both in New York and in the United States. 

When New Deal Strategies partnered with Tiffany for a 2021 run for NYC Council, we capitalized on her name ID advantage to land an op-ed announcing her candidacy, and invested early in a strong field program to get voters fired up about the race. Our team served as general consultants to Tiffany, developing a campaign plan with a strong focus on endorsements, communications, and field. We also worked closely with Tiffany’s campaign to manage mail production and distribution for the primary election.

Jennifer Gutiérrez, District 34

In 2023, New Deal Strategies worked with Jennifer Gutiérrez on her campaign for District 34’s NYC Council seat. 

We placed a strong focus on Jennifer’s longstanding advocacy in the local community, and developed an overarching campaign strategy focused on spreading her message locally through field and earned media. We supported her team with political outreach and endorsement strategy, ultimately securing key endorsements to bolster trust in the campaign.

Sandy Nurse, District 37

With deep ties to activism as one of the early organizers of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Sandy entered the race for NYC Council District 37 in 2021 with the trust of her community and years of experience fighting beside them. But with the Brooklyn Democratic machine backing Sandy’s opponent, New Deal Strategies knew it was going to take a people-powered campaign to win. Our team anchored the primary campaign from the beginning and built out structures, organization, and strategy that ultimately led the campaign to victory.

In developing Sandy’s platform, New Deal relied on participatory policymaking and cogovernance, choosing to uplift community voices in the campaign alongside Sandy wherever possible. We worked with her team to craft a campaign strategy that challenged her opponent’s commitment to protecting the status quo and positioned Sandy as a fighter for the community. In choosing to highlight Sandy’s organizing roots and focus on direct voter contact, New Deal was able to create a disciplined insurgent campaign operation that aligned politics, communications, and field strategy seamlessly. 

By the end of the primary campaign, Sandy’s campaign had knocked on 32,699 doors, made 56,032 calls, and completed 1,249 volunteer shifts – and the people-first approach delivered results. After all Ranked Choice Ballot votes were tabulated, Sandy Nurse won her seat – defeating the Party-backed incumbent – with a decisive 65.4% of the vote. In a year when all 51 City Council seats were on the ballot, Sandy’s victory margin was only topped in 6 other races across the city – including 3 incumbents and a handful of races where the outcome was widely preordained. 

When it came time to gear up for re-election in 2025, Sandy trusted the New Deal Strategies to lead her to victory again. By that point, Sandy had solidified her position as a trusted community leader, and she faces no opponents leading into the general election.