Press Release: Zephyr Teachout for Governor
For Immediate Release: June 24, 2014
Contact: Allen Roskoff, aroskoff@mac.com - (917) 553-7180
New York, NY – The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club announced its endorsements for this year’s Democratic Party primary.
Allen Roskoff, Club president, said, “Zephyr Teachout embodies the progressive ideals of the Jim Owles Club and has articulated a vision of economic equality for all New Yorkers. Her bold ideas, including reducing the prison population by granting clemency to those too harshly sentenced are being ignored by the powers that be. Teachout believes that people in prison who pose no threat to others and have shown genuine remorse for their actions should be returned to their loved ones. Governor Cuomo has been heartless in his refusal to grant anyone in prison clemency.”
“We have serious issues with Cuomo’s treatment of unions and their membership,” Roskoff continued. “We disagree with him on charter schools and his refusal to allow New York City to raise the minimum wage and to increase taxes on the wealthy. Cuomo’s watered down version of allowing for the ridiculously limited use of medical marijuana is something you would expect in Texas. Maybe Governor Cuomo needs a map, because he certainly appears to have lost his moral compass on some key issues.”
“While we recognize the governor’s role in achieving marriage equality, we are not a single issue organization. We expect a sizable portion of the LGBT establishment and political organizations will endorse Cuomo, as they did Christine Quinn. We believe, however, that the community is to the left of these organizations – as was proven in last year’s mayoral race. At this point in the mayoral race, Quinn had the most money and was far ahead in the polls. History has been known to repeat itself.”
The club also endorsed candidates for State Comptroller, State Attorney General, State Senate, State Assembly and United States Congress.
Governor : Zephyr Teachout
Comptroller : Tom DiNapoli
Attorney General : Eric Schneiderman
New York State Senate
11th John Liu, Queens
12th Michael Gianaris, Queens
13th Jose Peralta, Queens
14th Leroy Comrie, Queens
19th Dell Smitherman, Brooklyn
20th Rubain Dorancy, Brooklyn
22nd James Kemmerer, Brooklyn
*23rd Diane Savino, Staten Island, Brooklyn
24th Gary Carlse, Staten Island
27th Brad Hoylman, Manhattan
28th Liz Krueger, Manhattan
29th José M. Serrano, Manhattan, Bronx
31st Robert Jackson, Manhattan
33rd Gustavo Rivera, Bronx
34th Oliver Koppell, Bronx
36th Ruth Hassell-Thompson, Westchester, Bronx
New York State Assembly
24th David Weprin, Queens
39th Francisco Moya, Queens
42nd Rodneyse Bichotte, Brooklyn
51st Ceasar Zuniga, Brooklyn
52nd Jo Anne Simon, Brooklyn
59th Roxanne Persaud, Brooklyn
61st Matt Titone, Staten Island
64th Marybeth Melendez, Staten Island
65th Sheldon Silver, Manhattan
70th Keith Wright, Manhattan
71st Herman Farrell, Manhattan
72nd Gabriela Rosa, Manhattan
73rd Dan Quart, Manhattan
75th Richard Gottfried, Manhattan
76th Rebecca Seawright, Manhattan
77th Sherrise Palomino, Bronx
79th Michael Blake, Bronx
86th Victor Pichardo, Bronx
United States Congress
6th Grace Meng, Queens
7th Nydia Velázquez, Brooklyn, Manhattan
8th Hakeem Jeffries, Brooklyn
10th Jerry Nadler, Manhattan, Brooklyn
11th Domenic Recchia, Staten Island, Brooklyn
12th Carolyn Maloney, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn
13th Charles Rangel, Manhattan, Bronx
15th José Serrano, Bronx
* The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club believes that the Independent Democratic Caucus has caused a great deal of harm to the state’s ability to pass progressive legislation and has done a great deal of damage regarding tenant protections and rent regulations, which disproportionately impact the working poor. We believe that the IDC is the cause of the state’s failure to pass the GENDA legislation and to outlaw Conversion Therapy of LGBT youth. To this end, we will expend resources to defeat Senators Jeff Klein and Tony Avella. While we did endorse the uncontested re-election of Senator Diane Savino, whose commitment to progressive principles has been steadfast, we deeply regret Senator Savino’s membership in the IDC.