WFP rolls out new slate of Queens council endorsements

City Hall. Photo by Momos via Wikimedia Commons

By David Brand

The New York Working Families Party rolled out a new slate of endorsements in Queens Thursday, backing three candidates for open city council seats and issuing one second-place endorsement.

The WFP endorsed political strategist Austin Shafran in Northeast Queens’ District 19 and business group leader John Choe in Flushing’s District 20. 

The party also ranked two candidates in Western Queens’ District 26. Veteran government administrator Amit Singh Bagga got the party’s first endorsement, while policy expert Jesse Laymon was rated second.

Voters can designate their top five choices in special elections and primaries for municipal office under New York City’s new ranked-choice voting format.

WFP Director Sochie Nnaemeka said all four of the candidates demonstrated that they would stand up for NYCHA residents, unemployed New Yorkers and communities of color hardest-hit by COVID-19.

“From organizing against luxury developments threatening to displace their neighbors to helping win paid family leave, all four are trusted and proven advocates,” Nnaemeka said. “These are the kinds of working class voices that New Yorkers need in leadership right now.”

The endorsements come after the new Queens chapter of the WFP voted to recommend a different candidate in Council District 26. The group initially backed technology professional Julie Won for endorsement, according to multiple people familiar with the vote.

The WFP had also overruled the Queens chapter in Council District 25, a seat currently held by term-limited Councilmember Daniel Dromm. The Queens chapter voted unanimously to recommend Dromm’s former chief of staff Carolyn Tran, according to multiple people at the endorsement meeting. 

The WFP has not yet endorsed a candidate in that district, which includes Jackson Heights.