NYC Councilmember Kamillah Hanks Beats the Dems Field, But Can She Escape the Firestorm?
By Frankie Pressman with Richard Luthmann
Victory in the Dark
Kamillah Hanks won Tuesday’s Democratic primary with 59% of the vote. The race never even reached a second round.
The lights went out in West Brighton, but her campaign staff flicked on car headlights to celebrate.
“It’s not that I deserve it,” Hanks said. “It’s that the people of the 49th District deserve someone who really understands them and has their back.”
Her three challengers—Sarah Blas, Abou Diakhate, and Telee Brown—conceded by 11 p.m.
But as the victory party wrapped up under the glow of headlights, the bigger story remained untouched by local press: a scandal that’s roiling the Staten Island political class, smothered in silence by the borough’s top newspaper and Democratic machine.
Staten Island Advance and editor Brian Laline refused to report the most damning allegations—discrimination, Islamophobia, and workplace racism—choosing instead to fawn over a win shaded by power outages and personal tragedy.
Kamillah Hanks Wins Dirty: The Silence of SILive
The Staten Island Advance ran with the headline: “A power outage and family tragedy didn’t stop this Staten Island councilmember from winning her NYC primary.”
They didn’t mention whistleblower complaints.
The Advance didn’t mention city, state, or federal investigations.
They didn’t mention that Hanks and her Chief of Staff, Marci Bishop, stand accused of creating a hostile work environment.
They didn’t mention that Hanks retaliated against Muslim staffers for observing Eid or that Bishop called employees the N-word in the office.
The Advance didn’t report that baby formula and clothing were denied to Park Hill and NYCHA residents because “they weren’t OUR voters.”
They didn’t cover the growing list of agencies investigating threats made by Hanks’ husband, Kevin Barry Love, against Muslim activist Ibrahim Kurtulus—threats documented in official complaints received by this and other outlets, including City and State.
Why the silence?
Because Brian Laline runs a failing paper that survives by carrying water for the Staten Island Democratic establishment—and its fixer-in-chief, District Attorney Mike McMahon.
The Machine Protects Its Own
McMahon didn’t just endorse Hanks. He sent disgraced former judge and political operative Carmen Cognetta to help her knock challengers off the ballot, including respected community leader Jozette Carter-Williams.
Meanwhile, McMahon is prosecuting reputed drug lord Ettore Mazzei—an ally, campaign contributor, and former board member of Hanks’ non-profit and associate of her husband, Kevin Barry Love.
The hypocrisy is hard to miss. So is the rot.
Love—who recently posted “Winter is Coming” as a veiled threat—remains a key part of the Hanks operation.
His relationships with community figures are under scrutiny, his name appears in whistleblower complaints, and his behavior is part of a city, state, and federal investigations.
Hanks and Love have legally admitted their wrongdoing in ongoing litigation with Richard Luthmann.
If McMahon is serious about public integrity, he has a strange way of showing it. Then again, that may be the playbook of a Nancy Pelosi acolyte.
![Nancy Pelosi [L] and Michael McMahon [R]](https://nynewspress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Pelosi-McMahon.jpg)
McMahon’s newspaper of record—SILive—and it’s loyal hound “Editor-in-Thief” has yet to utter a single word about the Hanks scandals, robbing his readership of the truth, line by line.
Kamillah Hanks Wins Dirty: Party of One
The Democratic establishment has quietly abandoned Hanks.
Staten Island Democratic Party Chair Laura LoBianco Sword refused to endorse her.
Assemblyman Charles Fall and City Council elder Debi Rose stayed silent.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo—once her political idol—is a political corpse.
Instead, Hanks stood alone, wrapped in the embrace of minor unions and establishment holdovers like John Sollazzo and Diane Savino.
Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton offered her endorsement. But even that couldn’t erase the fact that no one else from the city’s progressive wing will touch Hanks with a ten-foot pole.
“She’s the standard-bearer for no one but herself,” said one former staffer.
And Scarcella-Spanton’s endorsement may well be a political “F-You Very Much.” Sources say Team Hanks is eying New York’s 23rd State Senate seat in 2028, now that Hanks is term-limited out of the NYC Council.
“Kevin Barry Love was mouthing off about how Kamillah will ‘probably have to go to Albany’ for at least one term,” a Staten Island insider said.
But Kamillah could still get lucky.
Maybe her old friend, Curtis Sliwa, has a spot for her now that Cuomo’s failed candidacy is effectively dismantled.
Or maybe Diane Savino could see what Eric Adams could do for her.
That’s if #DisloyalDiane, who’s politically supported Cuomo, Republicans, and seemingly everyone else but the mayor, still has a job in a month’s time.
Kamillah Hanks Wins Dirty: A Damning Record
Hanks has faced detailed and credible allegations from multiple whistleblowers.
Here’s what they’ve revealed:
-
Muslim staffers were mocked for their religious practices.
-
Hanks refused to accommodate Eid observance, texting “UNACCEPTABLE” when a staffer took the day off.
-
Marci Bishop used the N-word in the office.
-
Resources meant for low-income families were denied because constituents weren’t “our voters.”
-
Staffers were smeared as “gang-affiliated” if they challenged Hanks.
-
Autism and disability were mocked—Michael Arvanites was ridiculed as “slow” and “on the spectrum.”
-
Paul Casali was fired for drunkenness and theft but rehired to help her campaign.
Investigations are active at the city, state, and federal levels.
Yet, no mention in the Staten Island Advance.
No statement from DA McMahon.
No accountability from the NYC Council Speaker’s Office.
Heaven’s Judgment
Hanks’s mother, Patricia Ann Robertson, passed away just one day before the election. For the record, she was a good woman.
“She always knew that I would be here,” Hanks said in her victory speech.
But some longtime North Shore voters had a different reaction.
One local observer quipped: “Patricia is in heaven now. She’s finding three things: Ed Koch won’t shut up, Jimmy Carter is nowhere to be found, and there’s no reservation for Kevin Barry Love.”
The community isn’t laughing.
The scandals are real. The abuse is documented. The public trust is broken.
Kamillah Hanks may have won the primary, but the clock is ticking.
As investigators dig deeper, many insiders say her time in office may be cut short.
A Staten Island elected official said they believe there will be a special election.
One city official confirmed it: “Even if Kamillah survives this election, she won’t survive the investigations. A special election is coming.”
The Real Main Event
Sarah Blas isn’t backing down. She’s running against Hanks again in November—this time on the Working Families Party and an independent line.
“We’re now aligned with those very voices she tried to erase,” Blas said. “We’re organized, energized, and coming for her seat.”
In reality, she’s gearing up for an expected special election, after the truths that everyone knows about Hanks are laid bare and she is forced out of public office.
Abou Sy Diakhate, fresh off a win as District Leader, and Jozette Carter-Williams, widow of slain hero NYPD Officer Gerard Carter, still both have community support. Expect them both to pursue a bid in a special election.
For many, Tuesday night wasn’t a win. It was a warning.
The scandal is growing. The walls are closing in. And Laline fiddles while Rome burns and the Titanic sinks.
The real race has only just begun. In the words of Kevin Barry Love: “Winter is coming.”
About The Author
Leave a Reply