Also Endorses Spitzer: PEF Backs Green For Att'y General

Also Endorses Spitzer
PEF Backs Green For Att'y General

The Public Employees' Federation June 19 joined a long list of labor organizations to endorse Eliot Spitzer's campaign for Governor and also notably backed Mark J. Green's long-shot bid for Attorney General.

MARK GREEN: PEF plays a long-shot. The endorsements were announced a week before the second-largest union of state employees tallies voted in its own officer elections on June 27.

Opponents in Accord

Ken Brynien, PEF's Vice President, who is running to replace current leader Roger E. Benson, said the timing of the endorsements was tied to the union's triannual executive board meetings. "If we didn't do it in our June meeting, our next meeting was in August, and I thought it was too late," he remarked, noting that the 120-member board overwhelmingly voted to support both candidates.

Jennifer Faucher, who as coordinator of Region 10 represents PEF members who work for state agencies in Manhattan and The Bronx, pointed out that her area's Political Action Committee backed Mr. Green in March. "I think he has a record of advocacy," said Ms. Faucher, who is running on Michael DelPiano's slate opposing Mr. Brynien. "I think he's been good for the working class, good for consumers."

Mr. Green, however, is facing an uphill battle and is currently working to gain the required 15,000 petition signatures to have his name added to the ballot in September. Andrew Cuomo, the frontrunner in the race, gained his party leadership's nod at the State Democratic Convention in Buffalo May 30.

"No one worked harder for our endorsement or deserves it more than Mark Green," Mr. Benson said. "To us, what mattered most was not who had the biggest name, but the biggest record and heart."

An Activist Career

During the 1970s, Mr. Green began his political career working for Ralph Nader's Public Citizen. In 1981, he founded the New Democracy Project, a public policy institute, which he ran for several years.

From 1990 to 1993, he served as the city's Consumer Affairs Commissioner. In 1993, he was elected Public Advocate and was re-elected to that post in 1997. As Public Advocate, he was a vocal critic of many of ex-Mayor Giuliani's policies as racially polarizing. In 2001, Mr. Green unsuccessfully ran for Mayor, losing to Michael R. Bloomberg.

"We know he will win because he should win," Mr. Benson remarked, referring to the upcoming election. "That's not a political calculation but a merits calculation, and in the end this office needs more than just a name. It needs a proven advocate for working people."