ESPA Backs Grisanti, But Not Other Vote Switchers (Updated)
The Empire State Pride Agenda endorsed Sen. Mark Grisanti for re-election today, but did not announce support for the other lawmakers who changed their same-sex marriage votes from “no” to “yes.”
Republican Sens. Roy McDonald and Steve Saland were not included on the LGBT lobby’s endorsement list and neither were Queens Democratic Sens. Joe Addabbo and Shirley Huntley.
Update: The group did back Huntley in its first round of endorsements.
The fourth Republican to change his vote on the failed 2009 bill, Sen. Jim Alesi, is retiring. Carl Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat who is also switched his vote to yes, pleaded guilty to corruption charges and is no longer in office.
McDonald and Saland both face primaries of varying difficulty, but also have large campaign coffers they can fall back on in order to keep their seats.
Both Addabbo and Huntley, however, face stronger challenges. Huntley is in a Democratic primary against Councilman James Sanders, while Addabbo will face either Republican Councilman Eric Ulrich or former Giuliani administration official Juan Reyes.
Granted, Grisanti never cast a no vote on gay marriage legalization in the first place, but his potential Democratic opponent this fall, Charles Swanick, has been opposed to same-sex marriage rights in the past.
Grisanti arguably faces the toughest re-election battle of any incumbent Senate Republican and is a top target of Democrats, who lost the seat narrowly in 2010. Grisanti’s primary opponet, Kevin Stocker, has said the issue is “should be left to the voters.”
Of course, a major caveat here is it is overly simplistic to suggest the LGBT lobby is purely pushing for the legalization of same-sex marriage. The Empire State Pride Agenda has other issues it continues to press, including help for homeless LGBT youth and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, which has had a tough slog in the Legislature.
In addition, all four members of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference — Sens. David Carlucci of Rockland County, Jeff Klein of the Bronx, Diane Savino of Staten Island and David Valesky of Onondaga County — were endorsed
“It is with great pride that we endorse each of these exceptional legislators and candidates on behalf of New York’s LGBT community, and fully support their bids to serve all New Yorkers,” said Lynn A. Faria, interim executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, the largest statewide advocacy group for New York’s LGBT community. “With the invaluable aid of our Democratic, Republican and Independent allies in the legislature, we have made great strides since the last election. But much more work remains, particularly passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act. We are grateful that each of these men and women who represent diverse constituencies statewide are committed to standing with us now and always.”
A full list of ESPA’s endorsements is after the jump.
SD 11 (Queens) Tony Avella (D)
SD 12 (Queens) Michael Gianaris (D)
SD 16 (Queens) Toby Ann Stavisky (D)
SD 21 (Brooklyn) Kevin S. Parker (D)
SD 23 (Staten Island) Diane Savino (D)
SD 25 (Brooklyn) Velmanette Montgomery (D)
SD 28 (Manhattan) Liz Krueger (D)
SD 30 (Harlem) Bill Perkins (D)
SD 33 (Bronx) Gustavo Rivera (D)
SD 34 (Bronx/Westchester) Jeffrey Klein (D)
SD 35 (Westchester) Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D)
SD 38 (Orange/Rockland counties) David Carlucci (D)
SD 44 (Albany) Neil Breslin (D)
SD 53 (Onondaga/Oneida/Madison counties) David Valesky (D)
SD 60 (Buffalo) Mark Grisanti (R)
SD 63 (Buffalo) Tim Kennedy (D)
New York State Assembly
AD 1 (Suffolk County) Fred Thiele (I)
AD 4 (Suffolk County) Steven Englebright (D)
AD 11 (Suffolk County) Robert Sweeney (D)
AD 13 (Nassau County) Charles Lavine (D)
AD 16 (Nassau County) Michelle Schimel (D)
AD 26 (Queens) Ed Braunstein (D)
AD 28 (Queens) Andrew Hevesi (D)
AD 35 (Queens) Jeffrion Aubry (D)
AD 36 (Queens) Aravella Simotas (D)
AD 37 (Queens) Catherine Nolan (D)
AD 39 (Queens) Francisco Moya (D)
AD 42 (Brooklyn) Rhoda Jacobs (D)
AD 52 (Brooklyn) Joan Millman (D)
AD 66 (Manhattan) Deborah Glick (D)
AD 67 (Manhattan) Linda Rosenthal (D)
AD 69 (Manhattan) Daniel O’Donnell (D)
AD 75 (Manhattan) Richard Gottfried (D)
AD 76 (Manhattan) Micah Kellner (D)
AD 81 (Bronx) Jeffrey Dinowitz (D)
AD 82 (Bronx) Michael Benedetto (D)
AD 87 (Bronx) Peter M. Rivera (D)
AD 92 (Westchester) Thomas Abinanti (D)
AD 97 (Rockland County) Ellen Jaffee (D)
AD 100 (Sullivan County) Aileen Gunther (D)
AD 103 (Ulster/Columbia counties) Kevin Cahill (D)
AD 115 (Plattsburgh/North Country) Janet Duprey (R)
AD 123 (Binghamton) Donna Lupardo (D)
AD 129 (Syracuse) William Magnarelli (D)
CHALLENGERS AND CANDIDATES FOR OPEN SEATS:
Primary Election (September 13)
SD 27 (Brooklyn) Brad Hoylman (D), Open seat
SD 46 (Schenectady/Montgomery/Albany/Greene/Ulster Counties) Cecilia Tkaczyk (D), Open seat
AD 109 (Saratoga and Albany Counties) William McCarthy (D), Open seat
General Election (November 6)
SD 55 (Rochester) Ted O’Brien (D)
SD 40 (Dutchess, Westchester and Putnam Counties) Justin Wagner (D)
AD 21 (Nassau County) Jeffrey Friedman (D)
| Print article | This entry was posted by Nick Reisman on August 7, 2012 at 10:55 am, and is filed under Democrats, Lobbying, Republicans, Same-sex Marriage, State Senate. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |
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