Two new endorsements have been announced for candidates I am supporting.

First, Democracy for NYC has endorsed Yetta Kurland for the 3rd City Council District in Manhattan. Here is their announcement:

Democracy for NYC is proud to announce that our members have voted to endorse Yetta Kurland in the Democratic primary in Council District 3. Voting opened on July 1st and closed on July 10th. Here are the results:

Yetta Kurland: 69%

Christine Quinn: 12%

Maria Passanante-Derr: 0%

About the vote:
We have been asking DFNYC members through our email newsletters, as well as at Linkups and other events, to suggest 2009 Democratic primary races in which DFNYC should hold endorsement votes of its members. (Please see this page at our website for more details: http://dfnyc.org/content/view/2398/15/) The responses thus far indicated that the DFNYC community is interested in Council District 3. DFNYC members who attended three DFNYC events in the past year were eligible to vote.

I should note that I am no longer a voting member of DFNYC since they no longer have meetings in my part of Brooklyn. So it is great that they have been endorsing candidates I also support. Previously they endorsed Josh Skaller for the 39th City Council seat in Brooklyn (later followed by endorsements by Democracy for America and Howard Dean), Norman Siegel for Public Advocate citywide, and Steve Behar for the 19th City Council district in Queens. All four of the DFNYC endorsed candidates are excellent, kick-ass candidates and electing them would go a long way to improving the New York City Council.

The second endorsement that I am hearing about is Jo Anne Simon has been endorsed for the 33rd City Council district in Brooklyn by the Women’s Campaign Forum. Here is the announcement:

On Tuesday, July 14th, the Women’s Campaign Forum (WCF) announced its endorsement of Jo Anne Simon for New York City Council, 33rd District. WCF is a national, non-partisan organization committed to achieving gender equality in the political sphere and ensuring that qualified female candidates get elected to office. Nationally, women hold 22% of state senate seats and 24% of state house seats.

Jo Anne Simon is pro-choice. Throughout her career she has been an advocate for women’s issues. As the only women in a field of seven, Jo Anne is eager for every opportunity to make her voice heard. WCF’s support will help advance her towards this goal. Jo Anne said the following of the endorsement:

“I am extremely grateful for WCF’s endorsement. Though women have made great strides towards gaining acceptance and equality in many professional fields, there is still a striking gender imbalance in politics. In the New York City Council, only 18 of the 51 council members are women. I hope to help narrow this gap, and I wholeheartedly appreciate WCF’s help in the process – not just in this election, but throughout the country. WCF has been working for decades to bring qualified, pro-choice women to political power. With their support, I hope to become its next successful candidate.”