ALBANY, N.Y. April 23, 2020 — New York State United Teachers today issued early endorsements in more than two dozen special election and primary races for the U.S. House of Representatives, and New York State Senate and Assembly.
“Now more than ever, it’s clear that public schools are cornerstones of our communities, and we need representatives across New York who recognize that and will fight for public education in the halls of power,” NYSUT President Andy Pallotta said. “We believe that this slate of incumbents and challengers — including a handful of NYSUT members — will do just that. Especially amid this global pandemic, support for policies and funding that will move public education forward is critical as our educators work doubly hard to provide educational services and other essential resources for students and families.”
The full slate of early endorsements can be found below. NYSUT previously issued an early endorsement of AP biology teacher and NYSUT member John Mannion in the race for the 50th state Senate district seat.
NYSUT is scheduled to hold its biennial endorsement conference for federal and state offices this summer.
NYSUT-endorsed candidates receive grassroots support from NYSUT members, including phone banking, door knocking and literature distribution. The union also makes financial contributions from voluntary donations through the union’s VOTE-COPE non-partisan political action committee.
Early Congressional Endorsements
Congressional District 2
Jackie Gordon*
Congressional District 15
Melissa Mark-Viverito
Congressional District 16
Eliot Engel
Early state Senate Endorsements
Senate District 1
Tommy John Schiavoni*
Senate District 56
Jeremy Cooney
Senate District 61
Jacqui Berger*
Early Assembly Endorsements
Assembly District 12
Michael Marcantonio
Assembly District 34
Michael DenDekker
Assembly District 35
Jeffrion Aubry
Assembly District 36
Aravella Simotas
Assembly District 37
Catherine Nolan
Assembly District 38
Michael Miller
Assembly District 43
Diana Richardson
Assembly District 50
Joseph Lentol
Assembly District 51
Felix Ortiz
Assembly District 57
Walter Mosely
Assembly District 65
Yuh-Line Niou
Assembly District 71
Al Taylor
Assembly District 77
Latoya Joyner
Assembly District 79
Chantel Jackson*
Assembly District 81
Jeffrey Dinowitz
Assembly District 91
Steven Otis
Assembly District 108
John McDonald III
Assembly District 137
Demond Meeks
Assembly District 138
Harry Bronson
Assembly District 140
Bill Conrad*
* denotes NYSUT member
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO.