POLITICS
Diaz, Sr.’s Long History of Acting the Republican
Bigoted lawmaker has stood up for Trump, Giuliani — why’s he in the Democrat primary?
BY MATT TRACY
What does it mean to
be a Democrat in
New York City?
“I do like Donald
Trump,” Bronx Democrat Ruben
Diaz, Sr., then a state senator, said
in a 2016 interview with the Washington
Post. “He’s like me, making
enemies everywhere he goes.”
On paper, Diaz, a staunch opponent
of same-sex marriage and
women’s reproductive rights, is a
Democrat. But in a progressive
City Council and with a mayor who
fi rst won offi ce in 2013 running
as arguably the most left-leaning
in the Democratic fi eld, his party
label and his political leans are at
odds with each other.
So what does it mean to be a
Democrat in New York City?
For Diaz, who has spent decades
railing against same-sex marriage
Councilmember Ruben Diaz, Sr., speaks during his time as chair of the Committee on For-Hire Vehicles
— which was dissolved by his colleagues in response to his anti-LGBTQ remarks last year.
rights and once said the 1994 Gay
Games held in New York would lead
to the spread of AIDS and “wider
acceptance of homosexuality by
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL/ JOHN MCCARTEN
young people,” it seemingly means
that he is willing to use his power
and infl uence as an elected offi cial
to prop up Republicans across different
levels of government ranging
from presidents to governors to
senators.
For Diaz, it means praising
Trump, welcoming Republican
Senator Ted Cruz to the Bronx,
and endorsing the campaigns of
Republican Rudy Giuliani for mayor,
George Pataki for governor, and
Rick Lazio for United States Senate
in his unsuccessful bid to thwart
Hillary Clinton in 2000.
For Diaz, it means supporting
Ed Koch over David Dinkins in the
1989 Democratic primary competition
for mayor and then backing
Giuliani over Dinkins in that year’s
general election.
For Diaz, it means supporting
longtime Republican Senator Al
D’Amato of New York in his 1992
reelection bid before opposing him
because D’Amato was okay with
➤ REPUBLICAN DIAZ, continued on p.17
POLITICS
With Grassroots Muscle, Brisport Leads Dollar Chase
Can a gay socialist, without local LGBTQ support, make history in Brooklyn?
BY MATT TRACY
Queer political groups
are backing a straight
candidate in the 25th
State Senate district
in Brooklyn, but small donors are
throwing their support behind the
gay candidate — and it’s not even
close.
Out gay Brooklyn State Senate
candidate Jabari Brisport is turning
heads as he makes good on his
pledge to run as a “working class
candidate,” outraising all of his opponents
and attracting by far the
most donors in the Democratic
primary competition to replace
outgoing State Senator Velmanette
Montgomery in the 25th district.
Brisport, a schoolteacher vying
to become the fi rst out LGBTQ
Black member of the State Legislature,
has performed particularly
Jabari Brisport, the out gay candidate who failed to get the bulk of the LGBTQ political club endorsements,
has outclassed his competitors in gathering grassroots campaign contributions.
well during the fi nal stretch
of fundraising in a race that also
features former Montgomery aide
Jason Salmon, who has strong LGBTQ
support, and Assemblymember
MATT TRACY
Tremaine Wright.
In the most recent fi ling period
ending this month, Brisport raked
in $128,658 compared to $54,900
for Salmon and $15,425 for Wright.
Brisport has leapfrogged Salmon
in fundraising at this point: In total
to date, outraising him by tens
of thousands of dollars — $171,554
vs. $142,630 — and bringing in 11
times that of Wright’s $15,425 haul
so far.
The most eye-popping number
of all, however, could be an encouraging
sign for the queer candidate’s
prospects on election day:
Brisport has brought in contributions
from 2,879 donors, compared
to 617 for Salmon and less than 40
for Wright. Brisport’s campaign is
averaging just $37 per donation,
far less than the $195 and $167
average donations for Wright and
Salmon, respectively.
Brisport also seems well-positioned
for the last several weeks of
the campaign, carrying $89,138
➤ JABARI BRISPORT, continued on p.17
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