VAN BRAMER DROPS OUT OF BP RACE
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JAN. 24-JAN. 30, 2020 5
BY BILL PARRY
He was the first one to
launch his candidacy for
Queens borough president
back in May 2019, but in an
early morning campaign
email to his supporters
Tuesday, Councilman Jimmy
Van Bramer announced
he was ending his run for
the office.
“My family is the reason
I love this borough and its
residents; they are the ones
who instilled Queens values
in me and inspired me to
be an advocate for working
families. But family circumstances
have been weighing
on me for some time, causing
me to reconsider the timing
and feasibility of this campaign,”
Van Bramer wrote.
“Prioritizing my responsibilities
as a son and brother
is where my attention needs
to be right now. And so I am
ending my campaign today.
While this is a difficult decision,
this is the right one
for me and my family at this
time.”
Van Bramer’s campaign
picked up endorsements
from Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams and progressive
stars Zephyr Teachout
and Cynthia Nixon. He
had raised $17,360 since July
15 and has $203,185 to spend.
Councilman Donovan Richards,
who had stepped up his
attacks on Van Bramer’s opposition
to Amazon HQ2 deal
in Long Island City in recent
weeks, was the first to issue
a statement upon hearing
Van Bramer stepped out of
the race.
“Jimmy Van Bramer has
always added breadth to the
discourse on the future of
Queens and I know that he
will continue to do so,” Richards
said. “Family should
always be a priority. My
thoughts are with him and
his family at this difficult
time.”
Last year, Van Bramer
said he had the best Queens
resume for the job.
He was born at old St.
John’s Hospital on Queens
Boulevard, raised in Astoria
and attended P.S. 70 and
William Cullen Bryant High
School. After graduating
from St. John’s University,
Van Bramer became a community
organizer and went
to work as a reporter for
Lesbian and Gay New York,
which is now Gay City News,
where he brought attention
to the AIDS epidemic, bias
and hate crimes.
Van Bramer went on
to serve as chief external
affairs officer of Queens
Library for a decade and
also served as president
of Queens Council on the
Arts. He said those experiences
served him well when
he was elected to the City
Council in 2009 representing
Long Island City, Sunnyside,
Woodside and parts of Astoria.
He was appointed chairman
of the Cultural Affairs
and Libraries Committee in
2010, a position Van Bramer
is still holding now in his
third term.
QNS reached out to Van
Bramer and is awaiting a response.
“I will, of course, continue
to fight for the working
people of our borough and
city every day on the New
York City Council and beyond,”
Van Bramer concluded
in his message to supporters.
“I want to thank all of
you — our campaign’s amazing
supporters, volunteers,
and donors for your faith in
me and our shared vision to
build a brighter future for
Queens.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer announced he is stepping away
from the race for Queens borough president. QNS/File
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