Though not every candidate on the Union’s slate succeeded in winning their race on Primary Day this past Tuesday in New York and Massachusetts, Purple Power was again the key to victory in a number of critical state and local contests.
In New York State, 1199SEIU members played a key role in the decisive victory in the state’s gubernatorial primary for incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul.
In New York City, 1199SEIU members helped win several key State Senate races. In Queens, 1199ers mobilized for Leroy Comrie, who ousted incumbent Malcom Smith, who is currently under indictment for bribery charges. In the Bronx, members helped State Senators Gustavo Rivera and Jeffrey Klein keep their seats. And in Manhattan, 1199ers got out the vote for Adriano Espaillat, who retained his State Senate seat.
“We believe in him. We believe in what he can do. He says he’s going to take care of our schools and senior. We’ve lost a lot already with budget cuts and the economy. He wants to work with the health department to make healthcare better,” says Maximina Delgado, a home attendant with New York City’s First Chinese Presbyterian Agency who volunteered for Espaillat.
And in Brooklyn an army of members took to the streets to get out the vote for former 1199SEIU Political Coordinator Dell Smitherman. The run was Smitherman’s freshman bid for elected office and an attempt to unseat State Senator John Samson, who has twice been indicted on federal embezzlement charges. Though Smitherman’s campaign was unsuccessful, his 1199SEIU brothers and sisters came out in droves to support him and expressed nothing but pride in the effort.
“I’m so happy to be out here supporting Dell. We need our voice to be heard and Dell is one of us and he has our best interests at heart,” said Ketly St. Pre an RN at Brooklyn’s NY Community Hospital who volunteered for Smitherman on Election Day. “Without dedicated people like Dell, working people wouldn’t be able to survive. Working people struggle as it is and without him fighting for us we would really be in trouble.”
Member volunteers, as usual, played a critical role in 1199SEIU’s massive Primary Day effort. The Union campaign included direct mail, phone banking, on-line organizing and social media. Union staff and volunteers placed over a quarter million calls to 1199SEIU members and had over 20,000 face-to-face conversations with them in support of Union-backed candidates.
Outside of New York City, 1199SEIU members in New York worked on a number of critical races, including the successful re-election of State Senator Tim Kennedy in Buffalo.
“Tim Kennedy used to work in healthcare and was a leader in the fight for winning passage of the Safe Patient healing Act,” says Kim Utech, a school-based RN at Kaleida Health in Buffalo. ““He has always been there for healthcare workers and I thought it was important for me and my co-workers to make sure he was re-elected.”
And in Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley fended off aggressive challengers in the gubernatorial primary and will go on to the November general election with a purple army behind her.
In New York State, 1199SEIU members played a key role in the decisive victory in the state’s gubernatorial primary for incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul.
In New York City, 1199SEIU members helped win several key State Senate races. In Queens, 1199ers mobilized for Leroy Comrie, who ousted incumbent Malcom Smith, who is currently under indictment for bribery charges. In the Bronx, members helped State Senators Gustavo Rivera and Jeffrey Klein keep their seats. And in Manhattan, 1199ers got out the vote for Adriano Espaillat, who retained his State Senate seat.
“We believe in him. We believe in what he can do. He says he’s going to take care of our schools and senior. We’ve lost a lot already with budget cuts and the economy. He wants to work with the health department to make healthcare better,” says Maximina Delgado, a home attendant with New York City’s First Chinese Presbyterian Agency who volunteered for Espaillat.
And in Brooklyn an army of members took to the streets to get out the vote for former 1199SEIU Political Coordinator Dell Smitherman. The run was Smitherman’s freshman bid for elected office and an attempt to unseat State Senator John Samson, who has twice been indicted on federal embezzlement charges. Though Smitherman’s campaign was unsuccessful, his 1199SEIU brothers and sisters came out in droves to support him and expressed nothing but pride in the effort.
“I’m so happy to be out here supporting Dell. We need our voice to be heard and Dell is one of us and he has our best interests at heart,” said Ketly St. Pre an RN at Brooklyn’s NY Community Hospital who volunteered for Smitherman on Election Day. “Without dedicated people like Dell, working people wouldn’t be able to survive. Working people struggle as it is and without him fighting for us we would really be in trouble.”
Member volunteers, as usual, played a critical role in 1199SEIU’s massive Primary Day effort. The Union campaign included direct mail, phone banking, on-line organizing and social media. Union staff and volunteers placed over a quarter million calls to 1199SEIU members and had over 20,000 face-to-face conversations with them in support of Union-backed candidates.
Outside of New York City, 1199SEIU members in New York worked on a number of critical races, including the successful re-election of State Senator Tim Kennedy in Buffalo.
“Tim Kennedy used to work in healthcare and was a leader in the fight for winning passage of the Safe Patient healing Act,” says Kim Utech, a school-based RN at Kaleida Health in Buffalo. ““He has always been there for healthcare workers and I thought it was important for me and my co-workers to make sure he was re-elected.”
And in Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley fended off aggressive challengers in the gubernatorial primary and will go on to the November general election with a purple army behind her.
