NYC Councilwoman Carlina Rivera endorsed by transit union in House race for 10th Congressional District
Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, who is running in the packed Democratic race for New York’s 10th Congressional District, was endorsed Tuesday by the Transport Workers Union of America and its local chapter, building on sturdy labor support she has corralled behind her campaign.
Rivera, a Manhattan Democrat, is seen as one of several leading contenders in the district, which spans from the West Village in Manhattan to Bensonhurst in Brooklyn. Early this month, she was endorsed by 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the city’s largest union.
Tony Utano, the president of Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union, which represents New York subway and bus workers, said in a statement that Rivera would bring a “dose of much needed blue collar perspective” to Washington.
New York's 10th Congressional District Democratic candidate and New York City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan) speaks during an environmental policy forum presented by The New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and The Cooper Union., Tuesday, July 19, 2022, in Manhattan, New York. (Mary Altaffer/)
“We need a congresswoman who has the ideas and vision necessary to get New York back on track,” Utano said in the statement. “Carlina has demonstrated great knowledge and commitment to working with our union to protect, create and improve transportation jobs.”
Local 100 represents about 42,000 transit workers and is based in Brooklyn Heights, within the 10th Congressional District.
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In a statement, Rivera said she was “so proud” to have the backing of “everyday heroes that keep us all moving.”
“Working people across this country deserve champions in Congress to fight for pro-worker and pro-union policies,” she said in the statement. “I take TWU’s trust in me to deliver for workers across the country with the utmost seriousness and respect.”
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Rivera, who was raised on Manhattan’s Lower East Side by a single mother from Puerto Rico, dealt former Mayor Bill de Blasio a blow earlier in the race when she picked up Local 1199′s endorsement.
The health care workers’ union helped push de Blasio into City Hall in 2013, and its endorsement of Rivera signaled that labor was leaning away from the former mayor as he ran for the House seat.
He exited the race last week, accepting that his weak poll numbers made his path untenable.
Also running in the district: state Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, a Manhattan progressive backed by the Working Families Party; Rep. Mondaire Jones, a Westchester congressman who moved to Brooklyn after he was drawn out of his district; and Daniel Goldman, a Manhattan lawyer who led the first House impeachment inquiry into former President Donald Trump.
Two longtime politicians from Brooklyn, Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon and former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, are also competing in the primary.
Primary Day is Aug. 23.
