Working Families Party backs LeGrand for Southeast Queens Assembly seat
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The New York Working Families Party will support Latoya LeGrand in her bid for the 32nd Assembly District in Southeast Queens. Eagle file photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
The New York Working Families Party is endorsing Latoya LeGrand in her bid to succeed her former boss, State Assemblymember Vivian Cook, in the legislature, setting up a clash between the progressive group and the Queens County Democratic Party in a part of the borough the Dems have historically dominated.
LeGrand will run with WFP’s backing against Nathaniel Hezekiah, Rep. Greg Meeks’ deputy chief of staff who was endorsed earlier this month by the Queens County Democratic Party, which Meeks runs. Two other candidates have also filed in the race for the 32nd District, which opened up at the start of February when Cook, 88, announced she wouldn’t seek reelection to the seat she’s held since 1990.
“With deep roots in Southeast Queens, Latoya understands firsthand what it will take to deliver a bold working families agenda for her community: universal childcare, truly affordable housing, and quality healthcare for all,” Ana Maria Archila and Jasmine Gripper, co-directors of the NYWFP, said in a joint statement shared exclusively with the Eagle. “She will be a visionary leader in the Assembly and we are proud to support her.”
LeGrand, who grew up in the South Jamaica Houses, previously worked for Cook before launching her bid last month to succeed her former boss without Cook’s blessing.
At the time, the longtime lawmaker and top deputy in the Queens County Democratic Party had not yet announced her intention to retire. She told City & State in January that she planned to run for reelection, before eventually announcing her plans to leave office.
Cook has not formally endorsed a successor yet, but sources familiar with her thinking told the Eagle she’s unlikely to back a candidate who filed to run against her, alluding to LeGrand.
LeGrand ran for City Council District 28 last year with the Working Families Party’s endorsement, finishing fourth in the race to replace City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. The speakers’ district chief of staff, Ty Hankerson, won the race with over 58 percent of the vote.
The Working Families Party said it was again backing LeGrand because her “commitment to public service is unmatched.”
“I’m proud to be endorsed by the Working Families Party as we fight for working families, fight for equity and justice, and build a future where every family in Southeast Queens can thrive,” LeGrand said in a statement.
The race to replace Cook is bound to be competitive. It’s been over 35 years since the seat has been open.
While Cook has not weighed in on the race yet, that hasn’t stopped the Queens County Democratic Party that’s backed her throughout her career.
“Nathaniel Hezekiah is exactly the kind of leader our community needs,” Meeks said in a statement this week. “He understands Southeast Queens because he has spent a lifetime building relationships and serving the community with diligence and integrity. He has the experience, judgment and temperament to represent this district in Albany with distinction.”
Also filed for the seat is Tunisia Morrison, an active Southeast Queens organizer who previously worked as chief of staff to Assemblymember Alica Hyndman; Queen Johnson, who previously ran for congress in Brooklyn; and Mohammad Molla, who describes himself as a “community leader, small business advocate, and lifelong public servant.”
While Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates and progressive lawmakers may be in full control in Western Queens, the old Democratic machine is still the biggest game in town in Cook’s Southeast Queens district.
The DSA does not enjoy very much power in the area, and the WFP is also not considered to be very strong locally, something the party hopes this campaign can change.
“It's definitely not where the [WFP] has been the strongest, but we have been slowly and steadily tilling the ground in this area,” Gripper, a native of the district, told the Eagle. “We might not be a powerhouse in this part of Queens just yet, but we're going to be demonstrating how much of a powerhouse we can potentially be.”
Gripper argued that the Democratic machine can often be un-democratic, anointing candidates who are well connected without opening the field up to outsiders.
“The machine doesn't always play fair, but we know how to organize,” she said. “We know how to run and win elections. We know how to talk to voters and knock on doors, and that's what the Working Families Party leaders in Queens will be doing to help Latoya in this election.”
