New York City

The endorsements for Queens district attorney candidates

An overview of all endorsements being made for Queens district attorney candidates.

Tiffany Cabán.

Tiffany Cabán. Megan Magray

When Queens District Attorney Richard Brown died May 3 after almost three decades in office, a number of legal-minded Queensites were already in the thick of a race to replace him. All seven Democrats running in the primary are pushing for progressive reforms, to one degree or another. So the endorsements of political organizations, labor unions and elected officials are sure to help signal to voters what kind of candidate they’ll be casting their ballot for on Tuesday, June 25.

One of the strongest signals: the endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The democratic socialist who has represented part of Queens in Congress since January announced on May 22 that she is endorsing Tiffany Cabán in the race. It’s just Ocasio-Cortez’s second political endorsement since taking office, and Cabán’s success or failure in June will speak to the high-profile congresswoman’s impact in her own city.

But in the first week of June, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz countered with endorsements from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, further solidifying her as the establishment pick. Even if she may have been overzealous in claiming backers, Katz is leading the pack in major endorsements. That metric proved to be a harbinger of victory for recent candidates for open seats like state Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Time will tell if influential backers will play the same role for Queens district attorney, likely the single most competitive race in New York City this summer. And with Queens’ overwhelming Democratic enrollment advantage, the winner of the primary is essentially guaranteed to win office in November.

We scoured press releases, social media and candidates’ websites to compile the list of endorsements, which is accurate as of June 25.

TIFFANY CABÁN
Organizations: 504 Democratic Club, Amplify Her NYC, Center for Popular Democracy Action, Citizen Action, Color of Change PAC, Empire State Indivisible, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, LGBTQ Victory Fund, LIC Coalition, Make the Road Action, Muslim Democratic Club of New York City, National Association of Social Workers New York City Chapter, National Democratic Socialists of America, New Queens Democrats, New Visions Democratic Club, New York Immigration Action, New York Progressive Action Network, The New York Times, No IDC NY, NYC Democratic Socialists of America, One Queens Indivisible, Our Progressive Future, Our Revolution, People for Bernie, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Queens United Independent Progressives, Real Justice PAC, Red Canary Song, Rockaway Revolution, Rockaway Youth Action Fund (switched from Lancman), Streets PAC, Sunrise NYC, True Blue NY, VOCAL New York Action, Women of Color for Progress, Working Families Party

Labor: UAW Region 9A

Public figures: U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, State. Sens. Michael Gianaris, Jessica Ramos, Gustavo Rivera, Julia Salazar, James Sanders Jr. (switched from Lancman) and Luis Sepúlveda; Assembly members Harvey Epstein, Ron Kim, Yuh-line Niou and Dan Quart; New York City Council members Brad Lander, Carlos Menchaca, Jimmy Van Bramer; Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner; Suffolk County (Massachusetts) District Attorney Rachael Rollins; activists Cynthia Nixon, Linda Sarsour, Yusef Salaam and Zephyr Teachout, police reform advocates Valerie Bell and Gwen Carr (both switched from Lancman)

 

 
MELINDA KATZ
Organizations: Hum Hindustani, Indian Panorama, Jamaica Bangladesh Friends Society, National Organization for Women – NYC and Brooklyn-Queens, New American Voters Association, Planned Parenthood of New York City Votes PAC, Queens County Democratic Party, Queens Courier, Queens Gazette, South Asian Democratic Alliance, Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC 

Labor: 1199 SEIU, 32BJ SEIU, Alliance of South Asian American Labor, CWA Local 1180, DC37 Local 372, International Union of Elevator Constructors Local One, Mason Tenders District Council, New York Hotel Trades Council, New York State Laborers, SMART Transportation Division, Teamsters Local 237, Teamsters Local 831, TWU Local 100, Uniformed EMT’s Paramedics and Fire Inspectors Local 2507, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854, United Federation of Teachers, United Probation Officers Association

Public figures: New York City Councilman and former Queens district attorney candidate Rory Lancman, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Hakeem Jeffries, Carolyn Maloney, Gregory Meeks and Tom Suozzi; state Sens. Joe Addabbo, Leroy Comrie, John Liu and Toby Ann Stavisky; Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie; Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams; Assembly members Jeffrion Aubry, Ed Braunstein, Vivian Cook, Michael DenDekker, Andrew Hevesi, Alicia Hyndman, Stacey Pheffer Amato, Mike Miller, Catherine Nolan (switched from Lancman), Daniel Rosenthal (switched from Lancman) and David Weprin; New York City Council members Adrienne Adams, Bob Holden, Peter Koo, Karen Koslowitz, I. Daneek Miller, Francisco Moya, Donovan Richards and Paul Vallone; activist Kirsten John Foy

 

RORY LANCMAN
Organizations: Black Law Enforcement Alliance

Labor: Allied Printing Trades Council of NY, NJ, CT; Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local Union #1; District Council 1707; IBEW Local #3; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 1; International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 4, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 891; Local 94 Operating Engineers; RWDSU; Teamsters Local 553, Teamsters Local 813; Teamsters Local 817; Workers United NY/NJ Regional Joint Board

Public figures: New York City Councilman Antonio Reynoso; former state Court of Appeals Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman

 

GREGORY LASAK
Organizations: Asian American Congress, Citizens Union, New York Daily News, New York Post

Labor: Detectives Endowment Association, Heat & Frost Insulators Local 12, Lieutenants Benevolent Association, Local 768 - New York City Health Services Employees, Local 983 - New York City Motor Vehicle Operators, Local 1070 - Court, County and Department of Probation Employees, Local 1549 NYC Clerical Administrative Employees, New York City Fire Marshals Benevolent Association, New York State Court Clerks Association, New York State Court Officers Association, New York State Supreme Court Officers Association, New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association, MTA Police Benevolent Association, Port Authority Police Benevolent Association Inc., Sergeants Benevolent Association, Sheet Metal Workers Local 28, Tile, Marble & Terrazzo Union Local 7

Public figures: Rep. Kathleen Rice

 

BETTY LUGO
Public figures: Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, former Assemblyman Luis Diaz

 

MINA MALIK
Organizations: American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee

Public figures: Karl Racine, attorney general for the District of Columbia; Benjamin Crump, civil rights attorney; Angela J. Davis, criminal justice scholar

 

JOSE NIEVES

 

-with reporting by Maggie Garred