PEP, September 2009: DC 37 votes to endorse Bill Thompson for mayor

In a move that puts new heat into the 2009 mayoral race, District Council 37 has thrown its backing to City Comptroller William Thompson. Executive Director Lillian Roberts announced the union’s endorsement of the Democratic challenger Aug. 13 at union headquarters.

“Bill Thompson is an ally in our struggle to protect our members and a champion of the millions of hard-working New Yorkers we serve,” said Roberts.

“I am proud and honored to have the support of DC 37 leaders and members in the fight to become mayor,” said Thompson. “Your members make the city run every day and are its backbone. I am pleased and I feel strong!”

The New York Times called the decision by DC 37, the largest union of city government workers, Thompson’s “most significant endorsement.”

Widely considered the underdog, Thompson won the support of DC 37 because he and the union share the same vision for the future of New York City. Roberts said the city needs a mayor who will work in the interests of working people, the middle class and the poor — not just defend Wall Street and the wealthy.

Roberts: Jobs not layoffs

“The next mayor must address the fiscal crisis with job creation, not layoffs,” Roberts said. “Leadership that will improve public education, expand affordable housing, preserve health care for the poor and child protective and senior services is vital to our members and the city’s middle class.”

DC 37’s choice of Thompson for mayor speaks to the needs of members who earn from a low of $17,000 to an average of $32,000 annually and face contracting out and layoffs under the current administration.

“It is fiscally irresponsible to squander $9 billion on private contractors who don’t have to prove merit or fitness. This is part of the reason the city is facing double-digit unemployment,” Roberts said. She said layoffs and contracting out were key factors in Thompson’s victory over three other candidates who sought the union’s endorsement.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg won DC 37’s endorsement in 2005, but failed to regain support for this year’s third-term bid. His administration is laying off thousands of members while it ships city work and jobs to out-of-state and foreign firms, and uses contracting out to undermine the civil service system.

DC 37’s decision to back Thompson strikes a strategic blow at the billionaire mayor’s lavishly financed campaign, which has already spent over $20 million on television ads and $40 million overall.

Responding to insulting charges from the Bloomberg camp, DC 37 Associate Director Oliver Gray pointed out that, “No promises were made nor deals cut in exchange for the union’s endorsement.”

Later that evening, Thompson met with enthusiastic members of the union’s Political Action Committee and thanked them for their support and volunteerism in the weeks leading to the Sept. 15 primary and Nov. 3 election.

In the selection process, each mayoral candidate completed a 29-part confidential questionnaire and was interviewed extensively on Aug. 12, according to Political Action Committee Chair Lenny Allen, the president of OTB Employees Local 2021.

After discussing the impact each candidate’s policies would have on the 125,000 public employees and 50,000 retirees DC 37 represents and the millions of New Yorkers they serve, DC 37’s Screening Committee recommended Thompson and the Executive Board voted overwhelmingly for the endorsement.

“People power” will count

“While Bill Thompson’s opponents might be better financed at the moment, he has a weapon that is worth money in the bank – our membership and retirees and this union’s commitment to work for his election as the next mayor of New York City,” said Roberts.

“In the end, when we look at the last eight years under a Republican-backed mayor, we see that many hard-working New Yorkers have been pushed out of the city,” said Thompson. “Together we can take back City Hall and elect a mayor who cares and who values the municipal workforce. Together we can!”