Two former leftwing gubernatorial candidates — Cynthia Nixon and Zephyr Teachout — endorsed Long Island City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer in his bid for Queens Borough president.
Van Bramer was a supporter of both Nixon and Teachout in their respective campaigns for Governor and Attorney General in 2018. Teachout, an electoral reform advocate and professor at Fordham Law School, also ran against Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the 2014 Democratic primary and against Republican Rep. John Faso for the congressional seat spanning the Hudson Valley and the Catskills in 2016.
Van Bramer met Nixon, the political activist and “Sex and the City” star, in her advocacy work with the Alliance For Quality Education. His connection with Nixon goes back to organizing he did with her wife Christine Marinoni with the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization in the 90s.
Teachout and Nixon respectively lost their primary battles in 2018.
“We need real progressives like Jimmy Van Bramer willing to fight back against billion dollar corporations and put people first. We don’t need more party politicians beholden to big real estate,” said Teachout.
Van Bramer has touted his progressive credentials in his campaign for the borough-wide office. He has made it a point to reject real estate money and defend his role in fighting against the city and state’s plan to provide $3 billion in subsidies for Amazon’s HQ2 site.
“Over two decades ago Jimmy Van Bramer was one of the organizers who won ground-breaking campaign finance reform for NYC, opening the door for a new era of progressive politics in the city,” said Nixon. “He himself then took on the Queens machine to win his seat in the City Council. Whether bringing people together to defend immigrant communities, fighting for funding for our precious public libraries, safer streets or the MTA, or standing up against Trump’s hateful rhetoric and policies, Jimmy is a champion for the people.”
