Endorsement Roundup: Primaries Approach

We’ve got a smaller-than-usual group of endorsements this week, after a flurry of activity for the month of April.

Assemblyman Rory Lancman

Lancman, D-Fresh Meadows, picked up a handful of endorsements in the last week, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees New York chapter on Thursday.

At the same event, Lancman also got the endorsement of the Civil Service Employees Association.

“I’m proud to be supported by working New Yorkers looking for a champion to stand up against the Republicans’ anti-worker, anti-middle class agenda,” Lancman said last week.

U.S. Rep. Bob Turner

Turner, R-Forest Hills, grabbed another GOP member's backing this week in his quest to become Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's, D-N.Y., November opponent. 

Cathy McMorris Rogers, a Washington Congresswoman and vice chair of the House Republican Conference, gave Turner the nod on Tuesday.

"The nation took notice when Bob Turner arrived in Washington and he is exactly the type of refreshing and honest leader the country needs in the U.S. Senate," said Rodgers. "He came to Washington on a genuine mission to help turn this country around and I'm proud to endorse him as the next U.S. Senator from New York."

City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley

Crowley, D-Middle Village, didn’t announce any new endorsements in the last week, but did make a stand on one issue that’s been in the news quite a bit lately — the issue of profiling in surveillance by the NYPD. Crowley hailed the defeat of a Congressional amendment to ban profiling last week.

“Withholding federal funding from our police department because our cops have done their jobs is wrong," Crowley said. “The NYPD has acted lawfully to protect New Yorkers from very real terrorist threats. Voting for this measure frustrates the NYPD’s efforts to keep us safe. We need to work on expanding funding for the NYPD in a dangerous world, not cutting it off.”

State Sen. Toby Stavisky

In her own race for office in state senate district 16, state Sen. Toby Stavisky, D-Forest Hills, picked up a big endorsement — that of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

"I am proud to support my good friend Toby Stavisky for re-election,” said Schumer in a statement. “In the Senate, Toby Stavisky has proven to be a champion for Queens families by helping small businesses, expanding access to health care, and working to make college education more affordable for middle class families.”