The New York State United Teachers union on Monday issued endorsements to one Democratic incumbent in the Senate, while backing two Democrats running for open Assembly seats in an April 19 special election.
NYSUT issued an early endorsement for Sen. Marc Panepinto, a Democrat who was first elected in 2014 and faces a primary challenge from Amber Small, a community organizer in Buffalo.
NYSUT played a key role in Panepinto’s successful campaign to unseat Republican Sen. Mark Grisanti, including a controversial mailer that depicted a domestic violence victim.
Downstate, the union endorsed Assembly candidates Jaime Williams, who is running for an open district in Brooklyn, and Yuh-Line Niou, a Democrat running for ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s lower Manhattan district.
“Marc Panepinto has been an outspoken champion of what students and educators need in his Buffalo-area district and a lion in fighting for what working New Yorkers need to climb the economic ladder,” said NYSUT President Karen Magee. “Our members in New York City, too, have full confidence that Jaime Williams in the 59th A.D. and Yuh-Line Niou in the 65th A.D. will continue to fight for public schools and labor in the state Assembly.”
The endorsements for the candidates will come with some resources from the union, including phone banking, literature distribution and financial support.
Regular endorsements for legislative races are due to be issued at the union’s August conference.