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UFT mobilization makes difference in key, close primaries
Sep 25, 2008 12:14 PM
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (second from right) is all smiles as he celebrates his primary election victory at UFT headquarters with (from left) Midwood HS guidance counselor Antoine Vaual, AFT/UFT President Randi Weingarten and Silver’s wife, Rosa.
With a boost from UFT members’ political action efforts, most UFT-backed candidates were big winners in the Sept. 9 primary.
Decisive victories were scored as expected by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, running for renomination in his Lower Manhattan district, and City Councilman Michael McMahon, who sought the Democratic nomination for the 13th congressional seat in Staten Island and Brooklyn.
Union favorites also won in two other races targeted as must-wins by the UFT. In Central Brooklyn, Assemblyman Kevin Parker won renomination, besting two term-limited City Council rivals, Simcha Felder – endorsed by Mayor Bloomberg – and Kendall Stewart. In Northern Manhattan, Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat beat back a stiff challenge from term-limited City Councilman Miguel Martinez for Espaillat’s Albany post.
The difference in those two Assembly races? “We were able to demonstrate the link between what these elected officials do, particularly in Speaker Silver’s race, and how their work affects our members everyday lives,” said UFT President Randi Weingarten. “This explains the UFT effort to help these union friends.”
“We worked hard for all our candidates, with street workers, petitioning to get them on the ballot, letters and e-mails to members, phone banking and robocalls,” said Marvin Reiskin, the union’s legislative and political director. “But it was in those tight races where our candidates won that our work mattered most.”
Reiskin added that while McMahon trounced his Democratic Party rival by a margin of three-to-one, it was the UFT that helped raise his profile early in the race when it became the first union to endorse the councilman to succeed outgoing Republican Congressman Vito Fossella.
McMahon must now face GOP challenger Robert Straniere in the Nov. 4 general election.
“As happy as we are with McMahon’s victory, this fight is not over,” Reiskin said. “We still need to take back the 13th congressional district seat from the Republicans on Election Day. We need the largest possible majority that supports unions and workers rights, public education, civil liberties and an end to the Iraq war sitting in the House next session.”
Speaker Silver sailed to a landslide victory in his primary race.
“This campaign was about real people with real needs. Not about tabloid headlines. Not about mayors and governors. It was about results,” Silver told a cheering crowd of UFTers and other supporters at his primary-night victory party at UFT headquarters, which is in his district.
City Councilman Michael McMahon, who won the Democratic nomination for the 13th congressional seat in Staten Island and Brooklyn, greets staff and students at PS 14, Staten Island, on the first day of school.
Silver was referring to attacks on him by the city dailies for blocking educational and other initiatives sought by the mayor, but unpopular with the union and many voters.
Among the 12 contested races where the UFT not only endorsed but played active roles in the primary, all but three of its candidates swept to victory.
In the Brooklyn-Manhattan state Senate race, longtime incumbent and election lawyer Martin Connor lost narrowly to Charles Squadron, a former aide to Sen. Charles Schumer. In Queens, first-term Assemblywoman Ellen Young lost her bid for party renomination to Grace Meng, daughter of the former assemblyman. In the Bronx, state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez lost his renomination battle to former area state Senator Pedro Espada Jr.
