Tom Duane Endorses Van Bramer
Queens beep hopeful piles up progressive nods in crowded race
Tom Duane (left) speaks to then-City Council candidates Jimmy Van Bramer (center), Kevin
Kim (second from right), and Daniel Dromm (right) in October of 2009, one month before Van
Bramer and Dromm were elected.
BY MATT TRACY
Out gay former State
Senator Tom Duane,
who also served on
the City Council, is
backing Councilmember Jimmy
Van Bramer in his race for
Queens borough president , adding
to the out gay candidate’s
growing roster of endorsements
ahead of the March special election
to replace Melinda Katz.
“Jimmy Van Bramer is one
of the bravest people I know,”
Duane said in a written statement
to Gay City News. “He is
also an incredibly hard worker,
effective organizer, fiercely independent,
and true progressive... I
am proud to endorse Jimmy Van
Bramer for borough president
because Queens will be very well
served.”
Duane praised Van Bramer for
his work on queer issues dating
back to when the beep hopeful
attended St. John’s University,
but he also cited his advocacy
as a councilmember in the areas
of public transportation, government
services, and tenants’
rights, as well as his political autonomy
in the face of establishment
forces in the borough.
“Jimmy is fiercely independent
and has stood up to party bosses
and won a seat at the table, where
he is a strong voice for those who
may not have had such an empathetic
and tenacious representative,”
Duane added.
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL/ WILLIAM ALATRISTE
Van Bramer welcomed Duane’s
endorsement, telling Gay City
News in a phone interview that
he has known Duane since May
of 1991 when he volunteered for
the former elected official’s historic
campaign for City Council.
That year, Duane and Antonio
Pagán became the Council’s first
out gay members, and Duane
later went on to become the first
out gay person elected to the
State Senate. Duane was the
second out LGBTQ member of
the Legislature following lesbian
Deborah Glick’s ascendance to
the Assembly in 1990. Duane
was also the only out HIV-positive
member of the Legislature.
“Tom’s endorsement is incredibly
meaningful because he
is, and always will be for many
of us, a pioneer and a legendary
figure in the New York City
LGBTQ community, obviously
along with Deborah Glick,” Van
Bramer said. “I’m really humbled
to have Tom’s support.”
At press time, Duane was
scheduled to announce his endorsement
in a January 15
press conference alongside activists
from Van Bramer’s past
as well as out LGBTQ drag artist
and City Council candidate
Marti Gould Cummings, who is
also backing Van Bramer. Cecilia
Gentili, a trans LGBTQ rights
advocate who also endorsed Van
Bramer, is scheduled to be in attendance
at the presser, as well,
along with longtime transgender
POLITICS
political activist Melissa Sklarz.
Duane’s backing comes after
Van Bramer scored early support
from key progressive voices
in the city and state — including
former gubernatorial candidates
Zephyr Teachout and Cynthia
Nixon , an out lesbian, Public
Advocate Jumaane Williams,
and social justice activist Shaun
King.
“I do think we have demonstrated
a broad and growing
coalition of progressives endorsing
my campaign and I think
it clearly demonstrates we are
the progressive insurgent in the
race,” Van Bramer said.
The Sunnyside Democrat is up
against a handful of competitors,
including Council colleagues
Costa Constantinides and Donovan
Richards, former city lawmaker
Elizabeth Crowley, and
National Latino Officers Association
chair Anthony Miranda,
a retired NYPD sergeant.
It is not yet clear whether Van
Bramer will get the support of
the Working Families Party or
out queer former Queens district
attorney candidate Tiffany
Cabán, who now works for
Working Families but was close
allies with Van Bramer during
her campaign. The Queens lawmaker
said he met with Cabán
last month to discuss the race
and hopes to have her endorsement
as well as the support of
the WFP.
The party has yet to decide on
whether to endorse a candidate
for borough president and its
New York State director, Sochie
Nnaemeka, didn’t directly respond
when asked about the
party or Cabán’s intentions in
the race.
“The Working Families Party
plans to support progressive
champions up and down the
ballot and across the state who
share our values, record, and vision
for a New York that works
for the many,” Nnaemeka said.
The election is slated for March
24. Katz was elected Queens district
attorney last year.
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