Who’s backing whom in a rare competitive race for district attorney.
When Queens District Attorney Richard Brown died May 3 after almost three decades in office, a number of legal-minded Queensites were already in thick of a race to replace him. All seven Democrats running in the primary are pushing for progressive reforms, to one degree or another. So the endorsements of political organizations, labor unions and elected officials are sure to help signal to voters what kind of candidate they’ll be casting their ballot for on Tuesday, June 25.
One of the strongest signals: the endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The democratic socialist who has represented part of Queens in Congress since January announced on May 22 that she is endorsing Tiffany Cabán in the race. It’s just Ocasio-Cortez’s second political endorsement since taking office, and Cabán’s success or failure in June will speak to the high-profile congresswoman’s impact in her own city.
But the quantity of endorsements seems to matter as well, and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz is leading by that criterion. State Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Public Advocate-elect Jumaane Williams both had the most major endorsements in their most recent winning campaigns. Time will tell if influential backers will play the same role for Queens district attorney, likely the single most competitive race in New York City this summer. And with Queens’ overwhelming Democratic enrollment advantage, the winner of the primary is essentially guaranteed to win office in November.
We scoured press releases, social media and candidates’ websites to compile the list of endorsements, which is accurate as of May 29.
TIFFANY CABÁN
Organizations: 504 Democratic Club, Amplify Her NYC, Citizen Action, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, Make the Road Action, National Association of Social Workers New York City Chapter, National Democratic Socialists of America, New Queens Democrats, New Visions Democratic Club, New York Progressive Action Network, No IDC NY, NYC Democratic Socialists of America, One Queens Indivisible, Our Progressive Future, Our Revolution, People for Bernie, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Queens United Independent Progressives, Real Justice PAC, Red Canary Song, Rockaway Revolution, VOCAL New York Action, Working Families Party
Labor: UAW Region 9A
Public figures: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, State. Sens. Jessica Ramos, Gustavo Rivera, Julia Salazar and Luis Sepúlveda; Assembly members Harvey Epstein, Ron Kim, Yuh-line Niou and Dan Quart; New York City Council members Brad Lander, Jimmy Van Bramer, activists Cynthia Nixon, Linda Sarsour and Zephyr Teachout
MELINDA KATZ
Organizations: Hum Hindustani, Indian Panorama, Jamaica Bangladesh Friends Society, National Organization for Women – NYC and Brooklyn-Queens, New American Voters Association, Queens County Democratic Party, South Asian Democratic Alliance
Labor: 32BJ SEIU, Alliance of South Asian American Labor, CWA Local 1180, International Union of Elevator Constructors Local One, Mason Tenders District Council, New York Hotel Trades Council, New York State Laborers, SMART Transportation Division, Teamsters Local 237, TWU Local 100, Uniformed EMT’s Paramedics and Fire Inspectors Local 2507, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854, United Federation of Teachers
Public figures: Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Gregory Meeks and Tom Suozzi; state Sens. Joe Addabbo and Leroy Comrie; Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie; Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams; Assembly members Jeffrion Aubry, Vivian Cook, Andrew Hevesi, Alicia Hyndman, Stacey Pheffer Amato and David Weprin; New York City Council members Adrienne Adams, Peter Koo, I. Daneek Miller, Francisco Moya, Donovan Richards and Paul Vallone; activist Kirsten John Foy
RORY LANCMAN
Organizations: Black Law Enforcement Alliance, Rockaway Youth Action Fund
Labor: Allied Printing Trades Council of NY, NJ, CT; Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local Union #1; District Council 1707; IBEW Local #3; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 1; International Union of Operating Engineers Local 891; Local 94 Operating Engineers; RWDSU; Teamsters Local 813; Teamsters Local 817; Workers United NY/NJ Regional Joint Board
Public figures: State Sen. James Sanders; Assembly members Catherine Nolan and Daniel Rosenthal; New York City Councilman Antonio Reynoso; former state Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, police reform advocate Gwen Carr, police reform advocate Valerie Bell
GREGORY LASAK
Organizations: Asian American Congress
Labor: Detectives Endowment Association, Fire Marshals Benevolent Association, Heat & Frost Insulators Local 12, Lieutenants Benevolent Association, Local 768 - New York City Health Services Employees, Local 983 - New York City Motor Vehicle Operators, Local 1070 - Court, County and Department of Probation Employees, Local 1549 NYC Clerical Administrative Employees, New York City Fire Marshals Benevolent Association, New York State Court Clerks Association, New York State Court Officers Association, New York State Supreme Court Officers Association, New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association, MTA Police Benevolent Association, Port Authority Police Benevolent Association Inc., Sergeants Benevolent Association, Sheet Metal Workers Local 28, Tile, Marble & Terrazzo Union Local 7
BETTY LUGO
Public figures: Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, former Assemblyman Luis Diaz
MINA MALIK
Organizations: American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee
Public figures: Karl Racine, attorney general for the District of Columbia; Benjamin Crump, civil rights attorney; Angela J. Davis, criminal justice scholar
JOSE NIEVES