Come tomorrow evening when the Kings County Democratic Party Executive Committee meets to pick a candidate for the open 46th Assembly District seat they will be hard-pressed to pick somebody other than Coney Island Activist and former corrections officer Pam Harris.
That after Congress Members Hakeem Jeffries and Gerald Nadler, and Borough President Eric Adams joined a groundswell of political and labor-backed support that Harris has garnered this weekend. This includes State Sen. Diane Savino, who represents most of the district in the senate, adjacent Assemblyman Bill Colton, City Council members Mark Treyger and David Greenfield, and the Working Families Party.
“Pam has the courage, toughness and compassion to be an effective member of the assembly. Rikers Island is the toughest precinct and Pam Harris served the City as a Correction Officer for 24 years,” said Jeffries yesterday at a press conference with most of the other aforementioned lawmakers in support of Harris held on on the Bay Parkway Promenade.
“Pam has enormous compassion and is community-centered minded. I was at Pam’s house the next day following Hurricane Sandy and her immediate reaction was to help her neighbors. People are a gorgeous mosaic from all walks of life and Pam cares for all,” he added.
Adams, who couldn’t make a the press conference due to a scheduling conflict, said Harris has a proven track record of community engagement, resiliency and bravery in the face of adversity via an emailed statement.
“I experienced Pam’s tenacious advocacy and service and service to humanity firsthand during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy when we worked in partnership to distribute food, blankets, and much needed supplies to affected families throughout Coney Island – even though the first floor of her hone was under several feet of water,” said Adams in the statement. “Pam understands that we are One Brooklyn.”
In accepting the endorsements, Harris vowed to keep Sandy recovery efforts on the front burner and work on issues related to education, housing, as well as youth and senior services.
“These are not my issues, these are the community’s issues,” she said. “I believe that if you want something done, you do it yourself. It’s time now to have someone that is grassroots and community-minded to take this election.”
The seat opened up earlier this summer after Alec Brook-Krasny stepped down to take a job in the public sector, but as Treyger noted, the timing of Brook-Krasny stepping down allowed for a backroom political fight instead of an open primary. Brook-Krasny then backed his former chief of staff Kate Cucco, who sources say also has the backing of City Councilman Vincent Gentile and the wily Bay Ridge Democratic Party machine.
Cucco has also garnered the Independence Party line, which while not being as strong as Harris being on the WFP line, keeps her in play.
Tomorrow’s vote will likely come down between Harris and Cucco, and who can pull the most proxy votes of some 90 district county committee members. High-powered Bay Ridge attorney Cody McCone and former City Councilman Mike Nelson are also in the running as dark horse candidates.
Whomever gets the nod will face Republican and Conservative Party Candidate Lucretia Regina-Potter in what could be a very competitive election.
