Senate Candidates Get Endorsements

by dan rivoli

democrats in the race to succeed state sen. eric schneiderman recently won endorsements.

assembly member adriano espaillat got the backing of his ally, mayor michael bloomberg.

bloomberg, who is unaffiliated with any party after dumping the gop, cited espaillat's independence in albany.

"adriano has been an outspoken voice in the fight to reform government, improve our city's schools, protect our environment and revitalize our small businesses," bloomberg said in his statement.

espaillat, from washington heights, said he worked with bloomberg on revitalizing the city's waterfronts and pushing for a national immigration reform policy.

"his endorsement is yet another momentum building milestone for our campaign," espaillat said in a statement. "i look forward to having such a strong and influential ally in mayor bloomberg."

meanwhile, espaillat's colleague, assembly member daniel o'donnell, endorsed mark levine, a democratic district leader in washington heights.

o'donnell, who represents the upper west side, morningside heights and manhattan valley, said that levine would "take on the status-quo and make a real difference in albany."

"he brings exactly the kind of new perspective needed in albany to move progressive policies forward," o'donnell said in his statement.

in newspaper editorial endorsements, the new york times backed espaillat in an editorial that supported candidates in state races. the paper cites espaillat's advocacy for an independent commission to draw legislative districts.

"if mr. espaillat works hard to represent this diverse district, he could become an important leader in albany as well as a proud model for hispanics," the times wrote.

but levine was undeterred in using the paper's praise of his candidacy, despite losing the official endorsement.

an email to his supporters read, "here is what the ny times [sic] had to say about mark: 'mr. levine has impressive credentials and workable proposals for orchestrating the kinds of reforms we keep pushing for in new york.'"

the email also highlighted the negative words the times used for albany incumbents.

"the best advice for new york voters is to vote against anybody who has done time in albany," the times editorial read, which was quoted in levine's campaign email.