Nydia Velazquez for Congress: Critical NY-7 Primary June 26th

On June 26th one of our best Congressional reps will face a primary against a corrupt lackey whose only claim to fame is being loyal to a local party boss who is being investigated by the FBI.

The race is the primary for the new NY-7 Congressional district. It pits current liberal Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, who I know personally, against corrupt machine lackey Erik Dilan.

Nydia Velazquez has been endorsed by every liberal, progressive and reform organization in Brooklyn. Dilan has been endorsed by the Vito Lopez machine, one of the most corrupt political machines in the country. Problem is, the machine brings in money, which means it is quite possible that if we don't work hard in this primary we will see a good, honest progressive replaced by a corrupt, more conservative crony of one of the most corrupt politicians in America.

I see a lot of this from the inside because I am a Democratic County Committee member in Brooklyn, so I see the Vito Lopez machine in action. And it isn't pretty. Vito Lopez backed Harold Ford against Gillibrand. Vito Lopez has refused to let Democrats run against Republicans in Brooklyn. Vito Lopez has several ongoing investigations focused on his corruption. And I know people who have experienced outright thuggish behavior from the machine directed at them.

Nydia Velazquez is not only one of our most liberal members of Congress, but she is also among the most honest and has been a thorn in the side of Vito Lopez for years. He is gunning for her, using crony Dilan as his tool to get at her, and we need to defend her.

The primary is June 26th. In a highly unusual move, President Obama has openly endorsed Nydia Velazquez in this primary. Usually he stays neutral. But the local party boss doesn't seem to be on Obama's good side, so Obama has endorsed Nydia.

I have talked to Nydia many times. I talked to her in 2006 and 2008 when Democrats won big and her enthusiasm for her job was contagious. She was excited to get to work in Washington and push for small businesses and the working class. I also talked with her in 2010 when the Billionaire Koch Brothers funded teabagger "revolt" brought in a bunch of right wing extremists into Congress. Her enthusiasm for her job was dampened, but she was still determined to hold the line for small businesses and the working class as much as she could.

Nydia has also been endorsed by the Communications Workers of America, Lambda Independent Democrats, Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (disclosure: my wife is on the board of CBID), United Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, Teamsters, 1199 SEIU and New Kings Democrats. She is wonderful and deserves re-election. Dilan is supported by corrupt Party Boss Vito Lopez.

In a local primary very few voters show up. That means the machine starts with an advantage because if there is one thing Vito Lopez can do, it is get out his team in primaries. It is all he cares about. So even with Obama behind her, Nydia is at a disadvantage because the machine will get out their voters while the progressive and reform organizations are notoriously bad at getting out their people.

Here is Nydia at the Sotomayor confirmation hearings:



Here is Nydia speaking out for marriage equality:



Here is Nydia questioning bank CEOs in Congress:



She sets them up then throws her hard ball around 3:20.

Here is Nydia speaking out on the Public Health Option:



Read more about Nydia: here are her answers to the very detailed questionnaire Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats sends to all candidates. (PDF)

Help me support Nydia Velazquez for Congress. She is kick ass, she is liberal, she is honest and she deserves our support.

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