N.Y. Leaders Question Endorsement Pace

Gay leaders from Queens, N.Y., have expressed frustration with the statewide advocacy group for not including state senate candidate Lynn Nunes in its first round of endorsements this week. The marriage-equality advocate is challenging state senator Shirley Huntley, a Democrat who voted against the marriage-equality bill last year.

Attention is riveted on state senate races in New York, where Democrats hold a slim 32-30 majority. Compared to the state assembly, where Democrats hold a strong majority, the narrowly divided senate has stood in the way of the equality agenda, including the high-profile defeat of the marriage-equality bill in December and a senate committee’s rejection of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act last month.

Five of the 38 state senators who voted against the marriage-equality bill hail from Queens, including Huntley, the incumbent Democrat being challenged by Nunes. Community leaders view the race in the 10th senate district, encompassing southern Queens, as their single opportunity to affect the primary election season. Among the other four no votes from the borough, Sen. Hiram Monserrate has been defeated, Sen. George Onorato retired, Sen. Joseph Addabbo has no primary challenger, and Sen. Frank Padavan, a Republican, will face a marriage equality advocate in the general election in November.

“It really is a strange dynamic what happened here,” said out New York City councilmember Daniel Dromm of Jackson Heights, who has endorsed Nunes. “We have the second largest delegation in the assembly to vote for marriage equality. Our problem is with the senate, and this is the only race where we can have an effect this primary season.”

Given the urgency, Dromm and other gay leaders were surprised to see that Nunes did not make the cut in the first round of endorsements announced by the Empire State Pride Agenda this week. The coveted endorsement could help Nunes, who is straight, build legitimacy among gay voters, raise money, and attract campaign volunteers in the weeks leading up to the September 12 primary, where every day counts. By comparison, the Pride Agenda did endorse Charlie Ramos, the upstart challenger to state senator Rubén Diaz Sr., the notoriously homophobic Democrat from the Bronx.

“It’s not only surprising, it’s disappointing,” said Lynn Shulman, a gay community leader from Forest Hills who supports Nunes. “He’s one of the insurgents who actually has a good shot.”