State Senate candidate Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter met yesterday with Israel Rivera, the secretary-treasurer of the TWU Local 100, according to a source close to her campaign.The meeting was positive and productive, our source said, and Rivera (the union's second in command) is reportedly very happy that Pilgrim-Hunter, a community activist and Fordham Hill resident, is running. (As you've probably heard or read, she's challenging Pedro Espada, Jr., who's had a miserable week following Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's announcement that he's suing him for allegedly stealing $14 million from his non-profit healthcare network. Last night, Espada defended himself on NY1's "Inside City Hall.")
TWU Local 100, a chapter of the Transport Workers Union of America, has 38,000 working members, mostly public transport workers in New York City - bus drivers, subway conductors, station cleaners, and the like. It's one of the most powerful unions in the five boroughs. A formal endorsement, assuming it's forthcoming, would mean plenty of money and resources for Pilgrim-Hunter's campaign come primary season.
According to the Daily News, another labor union, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), is also expected to endorse Pilgrim-Hunter in the near future.
File photo by Adi Talwar
Wow -- if you listen to Kappstatter in the story right below this one, you'd think Ms. Pilgrim-Hunter has no chance of winning. Why are these powerful unions talking to her then? I think Kappstatter might be a bit out of touch. Pilgrim-Hunter is looking more and more formidable.
ReplyDeleteMore big news on the Dump Espada front:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newrooseveltinitiative.com/?page_id=102
"The New Roosevelt Initiative has committed a minimum of $250,000 to a campaign to vote Pedro Espada out of office, developing smart field operations and providing independent support for Espada’s opponent in the Democratic Primary."
It was reported last week that Doug Forand from the New Roosevelt Initiative has already met with Ms. Pilgrim-Hunter.
Does Kappy want to revise and extend his remarks?
Kappy can certainly answer for himself, but for the record, the edition of BronxTalk with Bob Kappstatter was broadcast BEFORE the Cuomo civil suit was announced so his analysis could not include this latest development.
ReplyDelete