PART 2 – Endorsements, recommendations and “Oh, hell no!”

Endorsements

The Black Leadership Action Coalition hereby endorses the following candidates for the following races:

  • Endorsements

    The Black Leadership Action Coalition hereby endorses the following candidates for the following races:

    - Mayor

    • Rank #1 – Eric Adams*
    • Rank #2 – Shaun Donovan*

    - City Comptroller – Brad Lander

    - Queens Borough President - Donovan Richards

    - Brooklyn District Attorney – Eric Gonzalez*

    - Council District (CD) 03 – Arthur Schwartz

    - CD 07 – Stacy Lynch

    - CD 27 – Harold Miller

    -CD 36 - Robert Waterman


 BLAC believes that these candidates are fit to serve or continue serving in the positions that they are running for, showing that they care about their communities and New York at large and will work hard for them if they are elected. Note that Eric Gonzalez is an exception to the response rule as he is effectively unopposed and we therefore decided to fully endorse him. Also exempt are our mayoral picks, whom we feel strongly enough about to waive the response requirement for. Eric Adams is our #1 pick due to his experience with public office and demonstrated leadership abilities, despite some issues with his platform. Shaun Donovan is our #2 pick because while he lacks the charisma that we would like to see from a mayor, we believe he is a capable administrator and that the Adams team, or any candidate elected, would benefit from retaining him as a deputy mayor.

Recommendations

The Black Leadership Action Coalition hereby recommends the following candidates for consideration for the following positions:

  • Public Advocate – Jumaane Williams

    Public Advocate – Jumaane Williams

    BLAC believes that Jumaane Williams has capably served in the admittedly minimal role of public advocate, and shines in image and focus relative to his competitors.

  • Borough President

    Manhattan – Ben Kallos

    Ben Kallos has demonstrated an excellent ability to combine idealism with pragmatism, and we believe he will be a competent and capable borough president.


    Brooklyn – Robert Cornegy

    Robert Cornegy shares many similar positions with the Manifesto and BLAC believes that he is also the most capable candidate to serve Brooklyn.

  • Manhattan District Attorney – Alvin Bragg

    BLAC believes that Alvin Bragg is a capable candidate who will combine his skills and experience with a needed change in focus for the DA.

  • City Council

    Manhattan

    CD 05 – Billy Freeland

    • Billy Freeland’s background qualifies him for capable service in the City Council, as well as a platform that is largely in line with what we have outlined in the Manifesto.

    CD 06 – Gale Brewer

    • Gale Brewer has proven to be a capable borough president, and her experience with New York politics will be an asset to the people of CD 06 if she is elected.

    Bronx

    CD 15 – Ischia Bravo

    • Ischia Bravo’s platform bears large similarities across the board to the policies and agenda we have laid out in the Manifesto, and we believe her experience with Community Board (CB) 7 will be an asset if she is elected.

    CD 20 – John Choe

    • John Choe’s platform has shown a high degree of correlation with our policies and agenda and combined with his background advocating in his community, we believe that he will is a good choice for his district. 

    Brooklyn

    CD 36 – Henry Butler

    • Henry Butler is the right man to serve CD 36 with his experience as a community leader and his past experience as an organizer which make him a qualified candidate.

    CD 45 – Farah Louis

    • Farah Lewis has served admirably in her current capacity as a City Council member and has grown into her role substantially, and we believe she will continue to server her district well.

Oh, Hell No!

Mayor

  • Raymond McGuire

    Ray McGuire’s lack of governing experience and his past at CitiBank make him a poor choice in our eyes. 

  • Andrew Yang

    Andrew Yang’s lack of governing experience and insulting approach to governing disqualify him for leadership of New York.

  • Maya Wiley

    Maya Wiley’s record in de Blasio administration and lack of meaningful action in her capacity there makes her a poor choice for mayor. 

  • Kathryn Garcia

    Kathryn Garcia’s support of a waste transfer station near a majority-minority NYCHA project despite outcry disqualifies her as a choice for mayor. 

  • Scott Stringer

    Scott Stringers politicking nature and tendency to ignore proposals unless they benefit him make him a terrible option.

  • Dianne Morales

    Dianne Morales’ opposition to her staff unionizing in relation to her campaign’s tone makes her a bad choice. 

  • Curtis Silwa

    Curtis Silwa’s record of racism and misogyny would make him a reactionary and backwards choice to lead New York.

  • Fernando Mateo

    Fernando Mateo’s tone-deaf approach to criminal justice and the city’s purview make him a backwards choice for mayor. 

PART 3 – Concluding Thoughts

While we were moved to action because of the nature of this election cycle, we believe that the issues and importance of reviews like this are important. We will take what we have learned from this experience and prepare for the next election cycle so that voters can continue to be informed about their candidates from a Black and brown perspective .