De Blasio Gets 1199 SEIU Endorsement

This is big news:

Local 1199 SEIU, which represents 200,000 healthcare workers, will make the announcement official on Monday.

The decision -- which could provide de Blasio a surge of grassroots support -- is the most significant union endorsement yet in the race.

Officials at the union said that its 150-member executive board voted unanimously to support de Blasio -- the first time that has happened in any citywide race in more than 20 years.
They also said they made their choice a month earlier than expected, with hopes it would prompt other unions to follow suit.

“Game-changing is a cliché in politics, but not when it comes to the mayoral endorsement of 1199/SEIU,” said Bill Hyers, de Blasio’s campaign manager.

De Blasio had been aggressively courting the union, appearing at scores of events.

“Our members are some of the most politically active residents of the city,” said union president George Gresham. “We are deeply connected to our communities, and we intend to devote thousands of volunteer hours to door knocking, phone banking and building support.

The endorsement is a boon to the public advocate, whose candidacy many observers said could falter if ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner -- another outerborough candidate who cuts a similarly progressive figure -- enters the race as expected.

DeBlasio has based a large portion of his run on bashing Democratic frontrunner Christine Quinn, but the City Council speaker has taken steps to diffuse the very issues -- like paid sick days and the NYPD inspector generals  -- the advocate was using to attack her.

The endorsement also comes as a blow to ex-Comptroller Bill Thompson, who has made clear his hopes of building a coalition of black and Latino voters. The vast majority of 1199 members are African-American.

Two things to say here.

First, I don't think Weiner's entrance into the race hurts de Blasio.

Weiner doesn't have a reputation as the "progressive figure" in this race - not with school children targeting him for his harsh school discipline proposals and tenant activists targeting him as a sell out to the landlord and real estate interests.

Maybe a few years ago, Weiner cut some kind of progressive figure (and even then, it was based more on image than actual policy), but there's been a lot of water under the bridge since that time.

There's a reason why none of the unions are going to endorse Weiner, no progressive groups are clamoring for a Weiner run.

It's because Weiner isn't a progressive.

Second thing I want to say: This endorsement is a direct slap to Thompson.

The African American candidate getting all those rich white people to support him politically and financially doesn't get 1199's endorsement because those members know who Thompson will represent if he is elected mayor.