Kant's full tax fraud is exempted The two parties each push rookies to compete for the seat of Ramshead Bay City Councillor

Seberstein (left) and Winnikov (right). (Campaign infographic)

Chaim Deutsch, a former city councilor in The 48th district of Sheepshead Bay, Brookland, was sentenced and removed from office for tax fraud, and the Democratic and Republican parties were eyeing the vacancies he left behind, and each pushed a political rookie to compete in the November universal suffrage. With a large number of local conservatives and pro-Trump voters, the Republican Party has a battle-hardening force, making the constituency one of the most watched battlegrounds in this year's city council elections.

The 48th City Councillor constituency includes areas such as Brooklyn Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach, Homecrest and Midwood, and has a large number of Chinese residents. Former Chinese-familiar city councilman Kant Quan was arrested for tax fraud in April, and he quickly pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court and was dismissed from office by the city council. Mr. Kant was eventually sentenced to three months in prison and a supervised release for one year, and was required to return the full tax and interest of $107,000 to the government, as well as a fine of $5,500.

The sudden vacancy of Kant Quan's parliamentary seat added a lot of suspense to this year's election. The candidates proposed by both Democrats and Republicans this time are political rookies, Steven Saperstein, a special education teacher, and Inna Vernikov, a female lawyer, who will compete fiercely in the November 2 general election.

The Democratic Sebenstein was a former Republican, and in fact he ran for the same city councilor seat for the Republican Party in 2017 and the 46th District State House in 2018, but lost to Kant Quan and Mathylde Frontus, respectively. This time he changed the party and fought again, winning the early June election with many participants and becoming the Democratic candidate.

Seberstein is a special education teacher who teaches children who are deaf or have hearing impairments. He saw that the community needed someone to come out and fight for their needs, hoping that he would be elected to the city council to get the constituency back on track. Seberstein pledged to work with the new mayor to bring the resources and grants it deserves to the constituency, hire a diverse staff of offices, and serve all residents regardless of party. He supports vaccines and science, but opposes government mandates and believes that people should be allowed to make decisions for themselves.

The Republican Winnikoff is a die-hard supporter of former President Trump. In contrast to Seiberstein, she was originally planning to run in the Democratic primary, but eventually accepted the Republican nomination. She describes herself as a former Soviet immigrant, loved the United States and New York, and wanted to run for city councilor because she felt that politicians had failed the people, reduced the quality of life in the city, and raised both crime and taxes. She opposed the "defund police," the BLM riots and the mandatory vaccination order, praising Kant's achievements and hoping to serve voters like him after his election.