Exonerated “Central Park Five” member Yusef Salaam said he was “ecstatic” and ready to get to work during an appearance on “Mornings On 1” Wednesday, hours after winning a seat on the New York City Council.
His victory comes more than two decades after DNA evidence was used to overturn the convictions of Salaam and four other Black and Latino men in the 1989 rape and beating of a white jogger in Central Park. Salaam was imprisoned for almost seven years.
Salaam, a Democrat, ran unopposed and will represent City Council District 9, which covers central Harlem.
Reflecting on his campaign and subsequent victory, Salaam said, “I'm still riding high on this past night’s energy. It was such a wonderful, wonderful experience to be received by our people in such a powerful way and to let our people know that we will do the work.”
Salaam insisted that his run for political office was “not about settling the score,” but rather about turning his pain into progress and setting an example for others.
“New York for me, was a crime scene. It was the place that made us the poster children for deviance,” he said. “And the best thing about it now is that when people see us, now they get an opportunity to say, ‘I'm possible because he's possible. If he could take this journey, and now become the main character of success, we can do anything.’”
On what type of political leader he now plans to be, Salaam noted he will have an open-door policy.
“I want to be a servant leader,” he said. “I want them to have the belief that they hired the right person, that they voted the right person and that all of my public life, as it relates to service, will be honorable, will be genuine. I will always have my door open. I will always listen to the people. I will always make sure that I bring their voices into the halls of power.”