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A crowded field of candidates are vying to replace Councilwoman Tish James, each hoping to leverage every electoral advantage for her Fort Greene-based seat. Accordingly, one contender, Laurie Cumbo, the former head of the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, rolled out the support of the small-but-powerful Hotel Trades Council earlier today.

“We are thrilled to announce our support for Laurie Cumbo today,” Josh Gold, the union's political director, said in a statement. “Laurie knows first hand the struggles of New York's working families, and we cannot think of a more qualified representative of the 35th. Our 32,000 members are ready to start work on her campaign and I am looking forward to working with her in the City Council.”

Ms. Cumbo is the latest in a small string of endorsements from the hotel worker's union as it seeks to leverage its organizing muscle into a City Council and mayoralty favorable to its interests.

Other candidates for Ms. James' seat include District Leader Jesse Hamilton, former District Leader Ola Alabi, Ede Fox, a former chief of staff for Councilman Jumaane Williams, and Jelani Mashariki, the founder of Black Veterans for Social Justice. For her part, Ms. Alabi was endorsed by the Correction Officers Benevolent Association and the Heat & Frost Insulators of Local 12.

Ms. James is vacating her seat to run citywide for public advocate.

Update (11:53 a.m.): Added additional information about Ms. Alabi's support.

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The New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, a relatively small union known for punching above its weight when it comes to electoral politics, has picked their candidate in the race to replace Council Speaker Chris Quinn: West Side community board chairman Corey Johnson. Josh Gold, HTC's political director, told Politicker that the race of particular importance to the union due to the growth of hotels there in neighborhoods like Midtown South and the Meatpacking District.

"Corey Johnson has been a community leader on the West Side for over a decade," Mr. Gold added in a statement. "He has fought for quality jobs, permanent affordable housing, community-minded development and raising the quality of life for residents in the neighborhoods he seeks to represent."

Referencing the union's high-profile contract dispute with the Central Park Boathouse--which involved taking out ads slamming the restaurant--Mr. Gold further said, "Corey has stood alongside our workers outside the Central Park Boathouse and we plan on standing beside him in his campaign for City Council."

Mr. Johnson is facing off against local activist Alexander Meadows and civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland. Thus far, Mr. Johnson and Ms. Kurland have been regularly rolling out various union endorsements, including TWU Local 100, CWA Local 1180, and District Council 37 for Ms. Kurland and RWDSU, SEIU 32BJ and UFCW 1500 for Mr. Johnson.

Ms. Quinn, of course, is term-limited and running for mayor, leaving a vacant seat behind her for the area's aspiring pols.

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Although he won't beat the record of the man he's vying to replace, at 24 years old, Ritchie Torres would be one of the youngest members of City Council ever if he's elected later this year. And so far at least, it seems he's positioning himself well to do exactly that, raising $60,0000 in his latest filing and simultaneously announcing the endorsement of the Hotel Trades Council, a relatively small union known for punching above its weight.

“I am so appreciative for this critical endorsement. The Hotel Trades Council has one of the premier get out the vote operations in the state and I’m excited to have them on my team,” Mr. Torres, a staffer for neighboring Councilman Jimmy Vacca, said in a statement. “HTCs endorsement is transformative for the race, and I look forward to working with them as the next Council Member from the 15th district.

Mr. Torres also recently collected the endorsements of 32BJ SEIU and UFCW, who represent property services and grocery store workers respectively. According to his campaign, "No other candidate in the race for the 15th district has yet to secure any support from organized labor."

He nevertheless faces a crowded field of rivals that includes attorney Raquel Batista, state committeewoman Yudelka Tapia and, notably, "Fake Joel Rivera," a candidate with a name identical to the veteran Bronx councilman whose seat is up for contention.

For his part, Councilman Rivera was just 22 years old when he was first elected.

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It's a good day for former Assemblyman Rory Lancman.

Mr. Lancman, a candidate for outgoing Councilman Jim Gennaro's seat, was first welcomed to the news that his top opponent, Martha Taylor, had dropped out of the race. Giving him a further boost, this afternoon, Mr. Lancman scored the endorsement of the Hotel Trades Council, a small but politically powerful union that successfully worked on behalf of Mr. Lancman's competitor in a congressional campaign last year.

"I can't wait to reshape our City's priorities towards lifting up working New Yorkers, and no one has consistently done just that like the men and women of the Hotel Trades Council -- I'm grateful for their support," Mr. Lancman said in a statement.

Additionally, HTC announced two other endorsements this afternoon: Donovan Richards and Costa Constantinides.

Mr. Richards, formerly Councilman James Sanders' chief of staff, is campaigning in the February 19th special election for his boss' southeastern Queens district, left vacant when Mr. Sanders joined the New York State Senate. Mr. Constantinides is a candidate vying to replace term-limited Astoria Councilman Peter Vallone.

Mr. Lancman still faces Isaac Sasson, a lottery winner and millionaire, in his Democratic primary, currently scheduled for September later this year.

Peter Ward, President of the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council, AFL-CIO. (Illustration by, Fred Harper)

The Hotel Trades Council, which has become one of the most influential unions in New York City politics thanks to their aggressive organizing efforts and willingness to back both Democrats and Republicans, dove into the five boroughs' most competitive congressional race this afternoon by endorsing Democrat Mark Murphy over incumbent GOP Rep. Michael Grimm.

“We’re all in. This is a priority race for us," Josh Gold, HTC's political director, explained in a statement. “We plan to do everything we can to elect Mark. He is someone who will stand up for all working men and women. He will fight hard for policies and legislation that will improve the lives of our members and help rebuild the middle class."

The union is the latest to make Mr. Murphy's electoral efforts a top priority, following a similar announcement from the RWDSU last week. Other Democratic-aligned unions have also endorsed Mr. Murphy, but HTC may be his first union backer with significant bipartisan tendencies.

Indeed, Mr. Grimm is no stranger to unions himself and has secured more labor endorsements than the typical congressional Republican. In fact, in all of New York State, the Staten Island representative had the only notable congressional race where the AFL-CIO outright declined to endorse the Democrat.

While the campaign arm of the House Democrats drew a giant target on Mr. Grimm's back, the general feeling among insiders is that Mr. Murphy has a decent amount of ground to catch up before voters head to the polls on November 6th. The last public survey of the race showed the incumbent leading by 10%.

The 4-year contract agreement , which formally recognizes the union at the Boathouse, includes a wage increase for employees, as well as health benefits for staff and their families.

“The Boathouse is a one-of-a-kind destination for New Yorkers and visitors, and throughout this process we were committed to its continued success for years to come,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Steel. “I want to congratulate Dean Poll and the New York Hotel Trades Council for reconciling their differences and coming to an agreement that is good news for the Boathouse, its employees and the City. Not only does the restaurant add to the vibrancy of the City in one of its most stunning settings, it also provides important City revenue, and this agreement will allow it to continue to thrive.”

The agreement is something of a victory for Mr. Steel after what has been a tough week for him that included a front-page story in yesterday's Daily News that he lived a mansion in Connecticut, rather than in the west side apartment he claimed.

"He did a really good job of making sure he was fair and tough when he needed to be to make sure a deal got done," said Josh Gold, the political director at the Hotel Trades Council which had been leading the strike.

Mr. Gold said that Mr. Steel led the two parties over a series of late-night meetings at Gracie Mansion that sometimes stretched into the early morning hours.

"I think we would still be on strike if Steel hadn't been showed such skill at negotiation between the two parties.

The Boathouse is operated through a contract between its concessionaire, Dean Poll, and the city, and the HTC had been pushing for the administration to break the contract and find someone more amenable to labor to operate the restaurant.

The unions had previously scuttled Mr. Poll's attempt to operate the Tavern on the Green, but today Mr. Gold sounded optimistic that an agreement could be reached there as well.

"We reached a deal with him there, I see no reason why we can't reach a deal across the park."

In a statement, Mr. Poll sounded equally conciliatory.

“This agreement is good for our staff, and will allow us to grow and prosper in the years ahead. I am grateful to Deputy Mayor Steel for his efforts in assisting to bring all parties together and develop a fair solution.  We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with the members of the Hotel Trades Council.”