Elizabeth Crowley (Photo: Facebook)
While Assemblyman Rory Lancman trumpeted the endorsement of SEIU 1999 today and Assemblywoman Grace Meng rolled out a set of South Asian endorsements, a third Democratic candidate in the northeastern Queens congressional race they are all competing in, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, announced an endorsement of her own: Transport Workers Union Local 100.
“We think Elizabeth is going to be a dynamic new voice in Congress for New York’s working families,” the union’s president, John Samuelsen, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be endorsing a person with such a strong union background, and a person who we believe will advocate aggressively for a strong national policy for public transportation.”
He added, “Local 100 will do everything within our power to get out the vote and help her across the finish line in the upcoming primary.”
The union is notable for Ms. Crowley, who has seen the biggest and most influential unions largely mostly going to Mr. Lancman, and, to a lesser extent, Ms. Meng. And, while TWU isn’t the largest labor force in New York City politics, they do have tens of thousands of current and retiree workers in their membership, which can have a tangible impact in what is destined to be a low turnout Democratic primary.
The winner of the June 26th primary will face Republican Councilman Dan Halloran in the general election. For his part, Mr. Halloran is holding a press conference this afternoon to roll out his own endorsement from the Uniformed Fire Marshals Association.
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