Surrogate showdown: Paul,
Montalbano endorsements roll in
Kings County Supreme Court Judge Rosemarie Montalbano, left, and Kings County Civil
Court Judge Dweynie Esther Paul, right. Kings County Courts
Council candidate Justin Krebs
New Era Dems
back Yang
COURIER LIFE, APRIL 16-22, 2021 11
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
BY STEPHEN WITT
The Brooklyn battle between two
well-respected jurists on who will fi ll
the second of two Kings County Surrogate
Court Bench seats continued last
week with front-running Kings County
Civil Court Judge Dweynie Esther
Paul receiving the endorsements by
the City’s largest labor organization–
the 150,000-member District Council
37– and its affi liated local unions.
The surrogate court oversees wills,
trusts and estates, guardianships, and
real estate matters. It is also is responsible
for appointments of attorneys
worth hundreds of thousands of dollars
in legal fees annually – a source of income
that both those loyal to the Kings
County Democratic Party machine and
the progressive Kings County Democratic
Party machine are seeking.
Paul, a George Washington University
School of Law graduate and
civically active resident of Bedford-
Stuyvesant where she is the deacon
of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church and a
former community board member, announcing
she fi led over 17,000 nominating
petition signatures. Also endorsing
Paul is the Alliance of South
Asian American Labor.
Paul has already received the endorsements
of a number of elected offi
cials including U.S. Rep. Yvette D.
Clarke, City Council Majority Leader
Laurie Cumbo, State Senators Kevin
Parker and Roxanne J. Persaud; Assembly
Members Nick Perry, Latrice Walker,
Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, and more.
Democratic District leaders supporting
Paul include Chair Rodneyse Bichotte
Hermelyn, Josue Pierre, Annette M.
Robinson, Henry Butler, Margarita Kagan,
Ari Kagan, and more.
Additional endorsements for Paul
came from a number of political clubs
including the Brooklyn Democratic
Party, Vanguard Independent Democratic
Association, Progressive Democratic
Political Association, Bay Democrats,
the Rosa Parks Democratic Club,
Arthur Ashe Democratic Club and the
Shirley Chisholm Democratic Club.
Not to be outdone, her equally respected
opponent Kings County Supreme
Court Judge Rosemarie Montalbano,
has been endorsed by U.S.
Reps Carolyn Maloney and Nydia
Velazquez; Assemblymembers Maritza
Davila, Jo Anne Simon and Robert
Carroll; State Sen. Julia Salazar;
City Councilmember Antonio Reynoso;
and Democratic District Leaders
Shaquana Boykin, Kristina Naplatarski
Emile Bazile, David Schwartz and
former Assemblyman Walter Mosely,
the New York State Supreme Court
Offi cers Association, the Independent
Neighborhood Democrats, the Central
Brooklyn Independent Democrats, the
NYS Court Clerks Association, the
Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club,
the New York State Court Offi cers Association,
La Nueva Esperanza and
the Haitian Powerhouse.
Montalbano was born and raised
in Bushwick to immigrant parents.
While growing up in this neighborhood,
she helped run her father’s deli.
During this time she witnessed fi rsthand
how vulnerable members of the
community like her father — a fi nancially
struggling non-English speaking
immigrant facing foreclosure —
were taken advantage of by predatory
lenders and banks.
The New Era Democrats,
a citywide political organization
based in Bensonhurst,
Brooklyn, endorsed
Andrew Yang for mayor.
“What impressed me
most about our meeting
with Andrew Yang was that
when we asked him questions,
he didn’t just think
of an answer – he offered
real solutions,” said President
John Orlando. “For too
long, our elected offi cials
have been operating as a
government of the politician,
for the politician, and
by the politician.”
endorsed by 100 artists
BY BEN VERDE
City Council Candidate
Justin Krebs, who’s running
to replace term-limited Councilmember
Brad Lander, got a
boost from 100 artists ahead of
the June 22 primary election
— marking the formation of
‘Artists for Justin.’
Krebs, a co-founder of the off-
Broadway theater The Tank, is
running to represent the 39th
Council District in Park Slope,
Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill,
Windsor Terrace, and Kensington,
where a strong backing in
the arts community could be
advantageous.
The endorsements come after
an unparalleled time of diffi
culty for artists in New York
with most performance spaces
shuttered and thousands who
were employed in the theater
industry out of work.
“The arts aren’t optional,
they’re a critical component of the
lifeblood of New York City,” Krebs
said. “We are proposing clear and
actionable policies to revitalize
the arts in this city because there
is no city recovery without an
arts and culture revival.”
Krebs called for a number
of city-wide policies that would
foster recovery for the arts section
as the city reopens amid
widening vaccine access. The
would-be pols proposals include
low-interest loans for
arts organizations, guaranteed
inclusive spaces for the arts
as a part of rezonings, commercial
rent control for arts
spaces, and policies that would
directly employ artists similar
to the New Deal-era Works
Progress Administration.
“Our arts and cultural
spaces cannot be held hostage
to changing fi nancial demands
from landlords,” Krebs said.
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