elizabeth crowley | Politicker

By Colin Campbell 4/19/12 5:33pm

Citing Her Walmart Opposition, Grocery Workers Endorse Meng [Update]

Assemblywoman Grace Meng just announced the backing of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, the main grocery workers union in New York City, a nice endorsement to have as she campaigns for congress in Queens.

Although the statement from the union’s president, Bruce Both, listed a range of issues they supported Ms. Meng on, he placed the most emphasis on her opposition to a Walmart within city’s boundaries. Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/16/12 7:53pm

petitioning

Queens Candidates Prepare to Leap Over Signature Threshold

The three main Democratic candidates for the open congressional district in northeastern Queens should all easily clear the 938 signature threshold necessary to appear on the Democratic primary ballot on June 26th, according to the totals reported by their campaigns this evening. The deadline to submit these petitions is midnight tonight.

Signatures are often trumpeted by campaigns as a sign of organizational strength, a possible indicator of the vote yet to come. On the other hand, this number can sometimes be misleading as the quality of the signatures — the likelihood that the vast majority of them will stand up under scrutiny — can often be more important than the raw number. Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/12/12 12:34pm

labor

Lancman on His Tier VI Vote: ‘My Light Doesn’t Flicker’

Assemblyman Rory Lancman, a candidate for Congress in Queens, declared his consistency on labor issues in response to The Politicker‘s story yesterday noting one of his rivals for the nomination, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, initially indicated she supported Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Tier VI pension proposal before ultimately voting against it.

“I can’t speak for anyone else but when it comes to the issues that matter to working people, you’ll always know where I stand — my light doesn’t flicker,” Mr. Lancman said in a statement after we discussed the issue with his campaign.

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By Colin Campbell 4/11/12 5:40pm

Endorsements

DC-37 Seems Likely to Go With Lancman

The three main Democratic candidates for an open congressional seat in northeastern Queens, Assemblyman Rory Lancman, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, interviewed in front of a panel at District Council 37 last night, which voted overwhelmingly to recommend the union ultimately endorse Mr. Lancman.

Apparently one of the issues at hand, three sources told The Politicker, was confusion about whether Ms. Meng voted for or against Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Tier VI proposal, opposed by public employee unions.

Ms. Meng ultimately voted against it, but, as her campaign explained it this evening, there was a procedural moment in the debate where she indicated she was going to vote in favor of the legislation. Video* of the proceeding indeed shows the total being announced with 45 nays while the official tally has 46. Read More

By Hunter Walker 4/09/12 9:04am

NY-6

Lancman Blasts ‘Sham Candidacy Of Long-Time Party Hack’

Assemblyman Rory Lancman’s campaign issued a lengthy statement this morning criticizing Jeffrey Gottlieb’s late entry in the crowded race for the sixth district as the “sham candidacy by a long-time party hack” designed by the Queens Democratic Party to disrupt Mr. Lancman’s campaign. City & State reported Mr. Gottlieb, who has a patronage position with the local Board of Elections and has been “heavily involved in Jewish causes in Queens” for decades, began circling last minute petitions to enter the District 6 race last week. Grace Meng has the backing of the county party in that race, but Mr. Lancman is hoping the district’s large Jewish population can propel him to a win and believes Mr .Gottlieb’s bid is aimed at undercutting his support in that community.

“The County organization is panicked by the strength of my candidacy,” Mr. Lancman said in his statemebt about Mr. Gottlieb. “Cynically fleecing Jewish voters with a sham candidacy by a longtime party hack is particularly appalling. Voters will rightfully see through this charade, and the party insiders responsible for this hatchet job should be ashamed of their attempt to deny the Jewish community a fair and legitimate election.” Read More

By David Freedlander 4/04/12 9:59am

NY6

Painters Union Endorses Crowley

The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 9 announced today that they were backing Elizabeth Crowley in the heated primary to replace Gary Ackerman in a Congressional race in Queens.

“Elizabeth Crowley understands the needs of our membership. Only 12 years ago, she was working on job sites throughout the City. She understands that construction sites need to be safe and that an honest day of work deserves an honest day of pay,” said said union head Joseph Ramaglia. “As a Council Member, she has worked tirelessly to create jobs and advocate for workers. That is the type of person we need to send to Washington.”

DC 9 represents more than 11,000 painters, decorators, glaziers, and paint makers in the city. Ms. Crowley must count on the support of the building trades if she is to counter the support that the Queens County Democratic Party has provided to Grace Meng and the Working Families Party has given Rory Lancman, her two biggest rivals for the race. Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/30/12 2:53pm

Gearing Up

Elizabeth Crowley Focuses On House Republicans

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley has to survive a crowded Democratic primary Congressional seat in Queens’ sixth district, but she’s already jumping into the fray against House Republicans. Ms. Crowley’s campaign spokesman, Eric Yun, released a statement today condemning GOP members of Congress for passing Paul Ryan’s budget and promising his candidate will be able to “stand up to Republicans” if she wins the seat.

“The passage of Paul Ryan’s budget yesterday by House Republicans shows that their number one priority is protecting the wealthiest Americans by demolishing critical government programs like Medicare and Medicaid,” Mr. Yun said. “In Congress, Elizabeth Crowley will stand up to Republicans who are endangering our nation’s seniors, working families, and children.” Read More

By David Freedlander 3/28/12 4:39pm

NY6

Crowley Nabs Firefighters Union

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley is set to receive the endorsement of the Uniformed Firefighters Association in her bid for an open Congressional seat in Queens.

Ms. Crowley is locked in a tight three-way race with Assembly members Grace Meng and Rory Lancman–who has also been rolling out some union endorsements of his own for a seat currently held by Congressman Gary Ackerman, who is retiring. The winner will face Republican City Councilman Dan Halloran.

Ms. Crowley’s campaign has been counting on endorsements from some of the more conservative unions in the city like hte firefighters, police officers and building trades. Ms. Meng has the backing of the Queens County Democratic Party, and Mr. Lancman has already received the endorsement of some of the more politically progressive unions like the RWDSU and the CWA. Read More

By Hunter Walker 3/19/12 10:38am

Family Affair

Joe Crowley Says ‘I Love My Cousin Very Much,’ But He’s Not Backing Her Congressional Campaign

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley is planning to run for a seat in the House of Representatives. Ms. Crowley, who informed The Politicker of her plans at the McManus Democratic Association’s annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast Saturday, joins an already crowded field that emerged once veteran Congressman Gary Ackerman abruptly announced his decision not to run for the seat. Congressman Joe Crowley, chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, is Ms. Crowley’s cousin, but he’s backing one of her rivals in the race, Assemblywoman Grace Meng.

“I love my cousin very much. I hope she realizes this is in the best interests of the district,” Mr. Crowley told The Politicker at a meeting where he announced the Queens Democrats’ support for Ms. Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/06/12 8:32am

social media excitement!

Politicians Celebrate Super Bowl Victory (!!!!!)

Everyone who hasn’t been living under a rock knows the New York Giants whipped up an impressive victory in the Super Bowl last night. However, even rock-dwellers were aware of the news if they were friends with any elected officials on Facebook.

Generally, the excited politicians’ responses needed at least five exclamation marks.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and State Senator Marty Golden were examples of this. Ms. Crowley wrote “NY Giants XLVI Super Bowl Champions!!!!!” while Mr. Golden wrote “Congratulations to the SuperBowl Champions the New York Giants!!!!!! Go Big Blue.”

Councilman Jumaane Williams, who correctly predicted the score of the game, might have been the most excited of them all. “UH…Yeah! We did it again. ANY DAMN QUESTIONS!!!!!!!” he declared, adding “WHOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” He also had another “WHOAA” post containing 50 exclamation marks. Read More

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