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Vito LaBella Is Running for Election to NYC Council to Represent District 43

Published: May 22, 2023
Vito_LaBella-New-York-City-Council-Republican-primary
Vito Labella poses for a campaign photo. Labella is running for election for New York City Council to represent District 43. He is on the ballot in the Republican primary to be held on June 27, 2023. (Image: Courtesy Vito Labella)

On June 27, New Yorkers who are registered Republicans will be able to participate in their party’s primary election, which will determine the Republican candidate for the general election to be held on Nov. 7. 

Throwing his hat into the ring is long-time Republican, Vito LaBella.

Born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, LaBella is a retired New York Police Department (NYPD) officer who served as a lieutenant, was a 9/11 first responder, an Integrity Control Officer for the NYPD and was a 9/11 Tribute Museum volunteer.

 A father of two sons, LaBella has worked tirelessly in his community alongside his wife, Kim.

After retiring in 2017, following 32 years of service, he was elected as PTA president for the Christa McAuliffe Middle School, located in the heart of District 43. 

“Whether it’s running a PTA, leading protesters over the Brooklyn Bridge or advocating for legislation in Albany, I became involved because someone asked me to help. This run for City Council in the 43rd District is no different,” LaBella says on his campaign website

Advocating for families

Following his retirement, LaBella dedicated his time to serving Brooklyn families, particularly when it came to school choice for Asian families in his district.

“In 2018, when the last administration targeted our Asian students because Christa McAuliffe was too successful in sending kids to Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech, the families asked for help, and Vito and Kim stepped up,” LaBella says.

He has helped organize families, held press conferences, staged protests, and even marched on City Hall, advocating for families. He has also testified before the City Council, Assembly and Senate. 

Last year, LaBella came very close to being elected to the New York State Senate, losing by a few hundred votes in an area that encompasses the new 43rd City Council District. 

He ran on a platform that prioritized freedom, law and order, education accountability, tax reform, and supporting small businesses. 

He is also a co-founder of PLACE NYC, an organization that believes that “all students across the learning spectrum are deserving of a quality education.”

He ran and was elected twice to the Community Education Council.

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“Vito works tirelessly for accelerated education, as well as safety and improved accountability, integrity, and transparency in the city’s public school system,” his campaign website reads. “As your Councilmember he will advocate that the city and the Department of Education stop pitting parents against each other and simply increase capacity for programs that families want to meet demand,” it adds.

Labella said that throughout his campaign, “the concerns of the people in South Brooklyn came through loud and clear.”

He says that increased crime rates, rampant shoplifting, mental health challenges and homelessness, are top of mind for residents of Brooklyn and believes that progressive politicians have been either silent or dismissive of these concerns. 

He believes that conservative policy solutions are the answer, and that by working together communities can stop the outflow of residents from the city and make Brooklyn a place “for families and their children to plant roots and thrive.”