Originally Published: October 28, 2009
Historic Good-Government Organization supports Councilmember Addabbo in Queens State Senate Race and Incumbent Queens State Senator Frank Padavan
Announces support for thirteen State Legislative Candidates in November General Election
Citizens Union today announced that it is supporting the election or re-election of thirteen candidates for the New York state legislature after evaluating thirty-one candidates this summer and fall. Most notable among the endorsements involve two State Senate races in Queens. In Senate District 11, Citizens Union supports incumbent Frank Padavan over challenger, James Gennaro, a current member of the City Council and in District 15, the organization chose challenger, Joseph Addabbo, Jr., a member of the City Council over incumbent Senator Serphin Maltese.
In announcing its decisions, Citizens Union also is making available online its voter directory, which can be accessed here. It is a full resource about all of the races taking place in the city on November 4th. The directory provides comprehensive information about various candidates and explanations behind Citizens Union’s choice of endorsed candidates.
The offices and endorsed candidates are as follows:
BRONX:
Assembly District 76 Peter Rivera (incumbent)
Assembly District 81 Jeffrey Dinowitz (incumbent)
BROOKLYN:
Senate District 20 Eric Adams (incumbent)
Senate District 23 Diane Savino (incumbent)—Also includes portions of Staten Island
Senate District 25 No Endorsement
Assembly District 44 James Brennan (incumbent)
MANHATTAN:
Senate District 26 Liz Krueger (incumbent)
Assembly District 64 Not Evaluated
Assembly District 72 Adriano Espaillat (incumbent)
Assembly District 73 Jonathan Bing (incumbent)
Assembly District 75 Richard Gottfried (incumbent)
QUEENS:
Senate District 11 Frank Padavan (incumbent)
Senate District 15 Joseph Addabbo Jr. (challenger)
Senate District 16 Toby Ann Stavisky (incumbent)
STATEN ISLAND:
Assembly District 63 Michael Cusick (incumbent)
In choosing to endorse State Senator Frank Padavan for re-election against his challenger Councilmember James Gennaro, Citizens Union maintains its support for Senator Padavan because of his long-held support for much of Citizens Union’s reform agenda and effective representation in Albany. Councilmember Gennaro is also an effective and well-liked Councilmember who could provide able representation in the Senate if he were elected; however, Citizens Union ultimately thought that a compelling enough case did not exist for it to no longer support Senator Padavan.
Citizens Union also announces its support for Councilmember Addabbo in the Senate District 15 race. A stronger supporter of state government reform than Senator Maltese, Councilmember Addabbo could bring about the needed change in Albany that New Yorkers deserve. Senator Maltese could not be scheduled for an interview with Citizens Union.
Citizens Union was disappointed that there are so few competitive general elections this fall, as was the case in the Primary Election this past September. Although many incumbents are facing challengers, the competitors either are not viable or were defeated in a ballot challenge – meaning many candidates are running for reelection with no meaningful opposition.
For more than a century, Citizens Union has served as a watchdog for the public interest and an advocate for the common good. Citizens Union was founded to address the corruption of Tammany Hall in the affairs of City of New York. Over the years, it has successfully advanced a broad platform of reform to open up government, ensure government accountability, encourage citizen involvement, and provide for clean and honest elections. As part of its nonpartisan work, it takes seriously its responsibility to inform and serve the citizens of New York City which is why Citizens Union has evaluated and preferred candidates for elected office since 1910.
The Citizens Union Voters Directory, with a list of all endorsed candidates, and evaluations of the interviewed candidates are available online here. In addition, to help the voters more fully understand candidates’ positions, their responses to Citizens Union’s questionnaire have also been posted on the Citizens Union website.