BREAKING: Cynthia Nixon + Zephyr Teachout Endorse Jimmy Van Bramer for Queens Borough President

QUEENS, NY (12/23/2019) (readMedia)-- Today, progressive leaders Cynthia Nixon and Zephyr Teachout endorsed Jimmy Van Bramer for Queens Borough President, the people's choice for Queens.

Van Bramer is the only candidate for Queens Borough President to reject real estate money, oppose the city jails plan, and lead the fight against the city and state's plan to give away $3 billion in taxpayer subsidies to Amazon. Van Bramer endorsed both Nixon and Teachout in their respective campaigns for Governor and Attorney General in 2018.

"Over two decades ago Jimmy Van Bramer was one of the organizers who won ground-breaking campaign finance reform for NYC, opening the door for a new era of progressive politics in the city. He himself then took on the Queens machine to win his seat in the City Council. Whether bringing people together to defend immigrant communities, fighting for funding for our precious public libraries, safer streets or the MTA, or standing up against Trump's hateful rhetoric and policies, Jimmy is a champion for the people. Queens needs a progressive fighter who won't be beholden to political bosses, rich donors or big corporations. That's why I'm proud to endorse Jimmy Van Bramer for Borough President," said Cynthia Nixon.

Van Bramer has been friends with Christine Marinoni- Cynthia Nixon's wife- for over twenty-five years. They first met in the early 1990's when they were both active in the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization's fight to march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Van Bramer met Nixon later when she started organizing with AQE and became a leading voice on education equity.

"We need real progressives like Jimmy Van Bramer willing to fight back against billion dollar corporations and put people first. We don't need more party politicians beholden to big real estate. Jimmy is the only candidate in this race who's proven throughout his career that he's not afraid to take on powerful interests and win. From defeating Amazon, to defying the party bosses, to organizing to get money out of politics, Jimmy is the true progressive choice for Queens Borough President," said Zephyr Teachout.

Teachout is a nationally recognized anti-corruption activist, an expert on constitutional and antitrust law, as well as a leading voice to get big money out of politics. Three days after Trump took office, she was part of the team of lawyers that filed Citizens for Responsibility in Ethics in Washington v. Trump accusing the President of violating the Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution. Earlier this year she wrote a New York Times op-ed about the threat of Amazon to competitive marketplaces.

"I'm so thrilled to have the support of two powerhouse progressives: Cynthia Nixon and Zephyr Teachout. These are women who've shown us what's possible when we have the courage to reject business as usual and stand up to the political interests that have dominated our democracy for far too long. It's time for a Queens free from the influence of developers, a Queens that unites to protect immigrant communities, a Queens with good schools, with safe streets and affordable housing for all. Together we can do it!" said Jimmy Van Bramer.

Van Bramer is a life-long progressive activist who's been fighting machine politics for over two decades. He is the son of union workers and a lifelong Queens resident. Before being elected to the City Council, he organized for LGBTQ rights, public financing of elections, and for the Queens Public Library.

Background on Van Bramer

Jimmy Van Bramer, born and raised in Astoria, Queens, is the Deputy Leader of the New York City Council. He was first elected to the New York City Council on November 3, 2009, and re-elected in both 2013 and 2017. Van Bramer is a founding member of the progressive caucus of the New York City Council.

He works tirelessly to fight for working people, equality for all, and the importance of improving quality of life in our community- values instilled by his parents. His father, William Van Bramer, was a lifelong member of Printers' and Pressman's Union Local 2, and his mother Elizabeth Van Bramer helped support the family- even through bouts of homelessness and food insecurity- by working as a meat wrapper and cashier at local supermarkets, and was a member of Local 1893 of the International Brotherhood of Painters.

His first foray into organizing was when he was a St. John's University student in 1993, leading a queer group of students who fought to be officially recognized by the largest catholic university in the country. Later, he organized for Ed Sedarbaum's 1998 State Senate race, gravitating towards the nascent movement to elect queer people in Queens and starting his personal decades long fight with the Queens County Democratic Party machine.

In 1998, he was an organizer with Citizen Action of New York to create what-is-now today's current New York City campaign finance system with matching funds. At the same time, he lead civil disobedience actions with Irish LGBTQ folks trying to march in the city's St. Patrick's Day parades, which previously banned openly queer groups from marching.

In 2001, he stepped forward as the insurgent candidate against the Queens machine for City Council, coming in second. In the ensuing years, he worked as an organizer for the Queens Public Library and joined the board of the Queens Council on the Arts. In 2009, Van Bramer won his City Council election against Queens County machine pick Deirdre Feerick. He similarly bucked the machine to back Melissa Mark-Viverito for Speaker.

Recently he was a leader in the opposition to $3 billion of tax subsidies for Amazon HQ2 and was the first Queens elected official to endorse Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney.

He currently lives in Sunnyside Gardens with his husband Dan Hendrick. Jimmy married Dan on July 28th, 2012, becoming the first openly-gay elected official to get married in the borough of Queens.