On the day Tiffany Cabán announced her bid for City Council, one of her opponents, progressive activist Jesse Cerrotti, promptly dropped out of the race and endorsed her. Now, for the third time since her announcement, another one of her opponents has suspended their campaign and thrown their support behind the progressive star.
This time, it’s Nick Roloson, City Councilman Costa Constantinides’ chief of staff, who’s dropped out of the race to represent Astoria, Woodside, Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and Rikers Island.
Roloson announced his campaign’s end and his endorsement of Cabán on Thursday.
“Today, I’m ending my campaign for New York City Council and announcing my support of Tiffany Cabán,” Roloson said. “This wasn’t an easy decision, but I believe Tiffany is the best person to lead Astoria into the future. Running this campaign over the last year in the district I’ve proudly served for seven years has been the honor of my life. To the friends who have supported our campaign, I cannot thank you enough. This campaign was for and driven by you.”
Roloson said that Cabán’s dedication to criminal justice reform, the linchpin of her 2019 run for Queens district attorney, was enough to justify his support of her campaign.
“After speaking with Tiffany, I think she has the vision for where this neighborhood needs to go next. She will fight for a fairer criminal justice system and continue the fight for a Renewable Rikers,” Roloson said.
Cabán said she was “proud” to receive Roloson’s support.
“Nick brings a critical perspective to our movement to bring radical transformation to our city, with his knowledge of the district, his background in community-centered policy, and commitment to climate justice,” Cabán said. “I look forward to working alongside Nick as we continue this campaign to create a New York that works for the working class.”
Constantinides, who will be term-limited out of office in 2021, announced his endorsement of Roloson early on in the race. Following the end of Roloson’s campaign, the councilman chose not to endorse any other candidate in the race for the district he’s represented since 2013.
“For the last 12 years, I have been so proud to work alongside Nick Roloson. I’ve considered him my friend and my brother. Nick put the vision we had for Astoria into action, and this community owes him a great debt of gratitude for his service over the last seven and a half years,” Constantinides said. “I am confident he would have done even greater things in the New York City Council, but I also respect his decision. Nick should be proud of the race he ran, because I know I am. I wish the remaining candidates luck in the months ahead as they enter a spirited debate on the future of District 22.”
In addition to Roloson and Cerrotti, former president of the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City Rod Townsend announced the end of his campaign for the seat last week.
Although Roloson, Cerrotti and Townsend have dropped out, several candidates, in addition to Cabán, remain in the race, including Leonardo Bullaro, Evie Hantzopoulos and Felicia Kalan.
