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Local candidates endorsed
Jun 26, 2008 12:40 PM
Political Action
UFT Legislative/Political Action Director Marvin Reiskin discusses the endorsement list.
Besides approving a resolution on the presidential race [see above], the delegates debated an Executive Board-recommended slate of candidates.
Daniel Dromm, chapter leader at PS 199, Queens, is running for City Council in the 25th district.
Discussion centered on whether to sustain the board’s support for Queens Republican state senators Frank Padavan and Serphin Maltese. Lisa North of Brooklyn’s PS 3 argued that with control of the state Senate in play, it was incumbent on the union to support their opponents and install a Democratic majority in the upper chamber.
Other delegates, including Queens delegate Mike Levine, joined UFT Legislative/Political Director Marvin Reiskin in arguing for the endorsement of both Queens senators. They noted that the two senators had steadfastly supported UFT issues, that the union has historically been nonpartisan, that Maltese in particular was the prime Senate sponsor of the 55/25 early-retirement bill, and that both had been voices for the UFT in the Senate Republican caucus.
The complete recommended slate passed with scant opposition.
