The Lodge and Gaming Trades Council endorsed Brooklyn Borough Prez Antonio Reynoso for Congress in NY-7.
File picture by Paul Frangipane/cCourtesy of Gerardo Romo, NYC Council Media Unit
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso secured one other vital endorsement within the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez in Congress.
The influential Lodge and Gaming Trades Council, which represents greater than 400,000 hospitality and gaming employees in New York and northern New Jersey, threw its weight behind Reynoso within the NY-7 Democratic main. The union stated the endorsement highlighted Reynoso’s “long commitment to organized labor, working families, and immigrant communities” within the district and throughout New York Metropolis.
“HTC is proud to stand with Antonio in his run for Congress because he has always delivered for organized labor and working families, and we know he will do the same in Washington,” stated HTC president Wealthy Maroko, in a press release. “Throughout his career, he’s been a fighter for New York’s working class – at picket lines and in City and Borough Hall – and a true friend to working people. He is exactly the kind of leader we need to take on Trump and make our voices heard in Washington.”
Reynoso was endorsed by Velázquez final week. File picture by Gabriele Holtermann
Reynoso was the primary candidate to throw his hat within the ring to interchange Velázquez after she introduced that she would retire after 30 years in Congress. He’ll face off towards Queens Meeting Member and Democratic Socialist Claire Valdez within the Democratic main this summer season.
The borough prez, who served as Council Member in Brooklyn’s District 34 earlier than he was elected Borough President in 2021, has to this point been endorsed by Council members Jennifer Gutiérrez, Sandy Nurse, Lincoln Restler, Shekar Krishnan and Crystal Hudson in addition to Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Final week, he secured an endorsement from Velázquez, who stated Reynoso “understands the struggles of working families because he has lived them,” and stated he’s “the leader this moment demands.”
New York’s seventh Congressional District, which incorporates a number of neighborhoods in north Brooklyn and southwestern Queens, is rapidly changing into one of the progressive tracts within the nation. The race to interchange Velázquez is shaping as much as be a battle between extra centrist Democrats and Democratic socialists, with Valdez backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and endorsed by the United Auto Staff.
The HTC endorsed Mayor Zohran Mamdani within the mayoral main, although it first supported Andrew Cuomo. File picture by Lloyd Mitchell
The HTC endorsed Mamdani within the mayoral election, although the union had initially embraced Andrew Cuomo and switched its alliances after Mamdani pulled forward within the Democratic main.
Reynoso secured the union’s endorsement in his marketing campaign for re-election as Brooklyn Borough President final fall, and was additionally endorsed by SEIU 32BJ, RWDSU and the New York State Nurses Affiliation. Solely HTC has introduced an endorsement within the NY-7 main to this point.
“I am incredibly grateful to the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council for their support. HTC’s members show that when workers have a real seat at the table, our city is stronger,” Reynoso stated in a press release. “I’ve been proud to stand with HTC throughout my career in the fight to ensure working people across New York are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. I am honored to have their endorsement as we keep building a city and country that works for all of us.”
