Manhattan pols back de Blasio in public advocate race

May 2, 8:27 PMNY Government ExaminerMichael A. Harris

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Candidadte Bill de Blasio

Bill de Blasio may represent the people of Brooklyn's 39th district in the New York City Council, but today the Democratic candidate for Public Advocate won the support of several powerful Manhattan politicians.

At a City Hall news conference Saturday morning de Blasio received the endorsement of Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senator Eric Schneiderman, and Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, all prominent Democratic politicians, who hail from Manhattan's politically active West Side.

“In November, our entire country saw the beginning of a different kind of grassroots Government with the election of Barack Obama," said Nadler, whose district also includes part of Brooklyn.  "As our next Public Advocate, Bill de Blasio will bring this new movement to City Hall, by continuing his record of organizing communities and empowering people to make their voice’s heard.  [Bill] is the best choice for public advocate because he knows the issues and he knows how to build strong grassroots coalitions that create change from the bottom up."

De Blasio will face City Council Member Eric Gioia, former New York City Public Advocate Mark Green and civil liberties attorney Norman Siegel in the September Democratic Primary.  The winner will likely face Republican candidate Alex Zablocki, an entrepreneur and aide to State Senator Andrew Lanza (R - Staten Island) in the November general election.

“Each of these leaders has shown a truly remarkable commitment to public service," said Bill de Blasio.  They represent the best and brightest at every level of government [and] I am honored and deeply gratified to have their support.”

The public advocate serves as the City Council President and the city's chief ombudsman.

COMING SOON: Video clips from Saturday's endorsement