City Council Candidate Brian Cunningham today denied his campaign was in communications with the Working Families Party despite his campaign manager telling Kings County Politics three weeks ago that both he and Cunningham were in active negotiations with the WFP for their support.
Either way, the WFP endorsed Cunningham, the Reform Party candidate, today in his bid to unseat incumbent City Councilmember Mathieu Eugene (D-Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, Ditmas Park) in the Nov. 7 general election.
The WFP initially bowed out of the primary election, choosing not to endorse any one candidate. A source close to the party said that though they conducted interviews at the beginning of the primary season, the party could not reach consensus, with support split between Eugene, Cunningham and another Democratic candidate, Pia Raymond.
Bill Lipton, the New York State Director for WFP, said that after the primary election it had become clear that a base of “grassroots activists” was backing Cunningham. He said that the WFP was swayed in part by an outpouring of community support after the election.
“It was a combination of factors: Brian really impressed us, many leaders within the WFP, and we saw a real consolidation of support behind Brian in the community,” said Lipton. “The WFP stands with these activists and concerned residents who believe that in the age of Trump, we need the kind of inspiring leadership that Brian brings.”
But Cunningham campaign manager Kevin Gregory Lata told KCP three weeks ago that both he and Cunningham knew people on the WFP inside, and the campaign was actively lobbying the party for the endorsement, which Cunningham now denies.
“My campaign was not in communication with the Working Families Party,” said Cunningham. “I think what happened is the working families party recognized the groundswell of support for my campaign in district 40.”
Cunningham called the endorsement “gamechanging,” adding that support from an “important, progressive party” was a huge boost to his campaign and showed a wide base of support in his district.
“I think this endorsement could change everything in this race. I think it’s that big of an endorsement,” said Cunningham. “I said during the primary that if we’d had WFP, we would have won the election. But we have it now. And we still intend to win the election.”
The primary election gave Eugene 5,414 votes, or 41.1% of the electorate, while Cunningham received 3,991 votes, or 30.3%. One week later, Cunningham had announced his bid to run as a third party candidate on the Reform Party ticket.
Cunningham admitted that he was initially apprehensive about running as a third party candidate. But he argued that the force of community support, as well as the WFP endorsement showed that the election was not over on September 12.
Meanwhile, Eugene called the WFP’s credibility highly suspect, and that he still expects to win the election based on his track record. This includes expanding summer youth employment and opportunities in the district and citywide, and ensuring that the local hospitals, including Kings County Hospital – the district’s largest employer – gets the funding and state-of-the art equipment it needs to stay competitive.
“They [WFP] lied to many people. They said to me and others both before and after the primary that they would stay out of the race, and then they suddenly dropped in and supported this guy [Cunningham],” said Eugene.
“I’ve dedicated all my life to helping young people. This guy has no experience or knowledge. He says it’s his time, but it’s always the people’s time. He wants to microwave a track record, but I’ve got the experience,” he added.
– Stephen Witt contributed to this story
