Van Bramer Rejects the Queens Machine Attempt to Suppress Insurgent District Leaders

QUEENS, NY (11/01/2019) (readMedia)-- At a Queens County Democratic Party pre-election cocktail party earlier this week, Party Chairman and Congressman Gregory Meeks attacked the growing progressive movement in the borough. He called for the soiree's attendees to fund incumbents district leaders and defeat any primary challengers.

In response, Queens Borough President candidate Jimmy Van Bramer said:

"Chairman Meeks is riling up his base to block the surge of progressive leaders. Queens Democrats should be celebrating this groundswell of civic activism rather than 'harnessing' it for the Machine's benefit. The future of Queens will be built by those who stand up to power and fight back against entrenched interests."

Meeks' call to action comes on the heels of the launch of the New Reformers PAC, which aims to back insurgent district leader candidates against incumbent, machine-backed ones.

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 taking a variety of jobs in their neighborhood, 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.