Incumbent Congressmember Carolyn Maloney on February 14 unveiled a list of endorsements from LGBTQ elected officials and individuals in her bid for re-election in the redrawn 12th Congressional District.
Exactly three-dozen individuals, from congressmembers to current and former councilmembers and activists, signed a letter directed to the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City — a citywide LGBTQ political club — calling on its members to back Maloney.
The signatures included two of Maloney’s House colleagues, Sean Patrick Maloney of the Hudson Valley and Ritchie Torres of the Bronx, as well as State Assemblymember Deborah Glick of Manhattan and Councilmembers Erik Bottcher of Manhattan and Lynn Schulman of Queens.
The list also featured two former New York City Council speakers — Corey Johnson and Christine Quinn — in addition to former councilmember Daniel Dromm.
The announcement came as Attorney Suraj Patel, who already ran against Maloney twice, announced his candidacy for the race as he looks to try his hand in the first competition since redistricting. Maloney beat Patel by nearly 20 points in 2018, but the race was far closer in 2020 when Maloney beat him by less than three percentage points. Rana Abdelhamid and Maya Contreras are also candidates in the race.
Among others backing Maloney were drag artist and former council candidate Marti Allen-Cummings; attorney Thomas Shanahan; Judith Kasen-Windsor, the surviving spouse of Edie Windsor; and Liz Abzug, who is the daughter of the late Congressmember Bella Abzug and founded the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute.
The letter praised Maloney for her work as a city lawmaker in the 1990s when she introduced a domestic partner bill as well as for her early support of marriage equality. On the issue of sex work decriminalization — a key LGBTQ issue — Maloney said in a 2020 Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club questionnaire that the Nordic Model was her preferred approach, but she also said she was “open to considering other options.”
