Wunderkind Lincoln Restler was endorsed by the Brooklyn Borough Pres Marty Markowitz, Congressman Jerry Nadler & Nydia Velazquez. He also picked up the endorsements of State Senators Eric Adams & Daniel Squadron, Council members Letitia James & Brad Lander - all of whom declared or expressed interest in the BP or Public advocate position, and council members Jumaane Williams and Diana Reyna, and the list goes on.
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| By Colin Campbell, Politicker |
The fact that Citywide and
Borough-wide contenders are going against Chairman Vito Lopez, is
telling on whose support is more coveted.Also, at least one of the
attendees at the Restler endorsement, State Senator Eric Adams, was part
of the small army to
endorse Erik Dilan last week on the steps of city hall. Looks like he
had a change of heart in 6 weeks regarding the need for change - go
figure...
According to Chris Bragg , the endorsement conference targeted the Satmar voters: "The reshaped district has made winning votes in Brooklyn’s Satmar Jewish community even more important – but Restler won only 22 percent of the vote in that community in 2010. Restler’s campaign says it hopes that the imprimatur of so many prominent elected officials today will help him gain traction among those voters in this relatively low-interest September race."
UPDATE: Senator Adams don't want us to conclude that he broke off with Lopez. He told Chris Bragg: “I’m not poking anybody in the eye,” Adams said. “I’m looking for the
best representative. This is not about Vito Lopez, this is about the
district leader, Lincoln Restler.” Adams added that he planned to endorse the re-election campaign of
State Sen. Martin Dilan, a close Lopez ally. “If you look at my endorsements, you will see a streak of
independence-y,” Adams explained. “That’s what I believe Vito would
want, I think that’s what Lincoln would want. I think that’s what
everybody wants.”
Chris also points out that one longtime Restler ally not present at the endorsement event today
was Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who is set to assume a central
Brooklyn seat in Congress in January.
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I must admit that I did not even know that Lincoln Restler's position was unsalaried! That is, until I met Mr. Restler a few days ago, for the first time, and then checked the web. In the heat and humidity of a New York City summer, Lincoln was walking from house to house, from block to block, day after day- meeting the people of our / his Brooklyn community, and asking them about their concerns and problems. I was impressed - because I find this kind of genuine dedication, interest, and hands-on effort to be rare among aspiring politicians. Mr. Restler has my support in the upcoming September 13th, 2012 election for Democratic State Committeeman (--which- for whatever reason, is on a Thursday, and not a Tuesday). I wish him well. Our community needs more like him. Our community is lucky to have him.
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