Antonio Reynoso Endorsed by State Senator John Liu in Brooklyn BP Race
Council Member Antonio Reynoso has picked up an endorsement from Queens State Senator John Liu in his push to become the next Brooklyn Borough President.
Liu represents a district that includes neighborhoods like Flushing and Whitestone that are far from Brooklyn. But the backing of the Senator, who was born in Taiwan and moved to New York with his family at age five, could give Reynoso a boost amongst this borough’s Asian communities, which make up over 12% of Brooklyn’s population.
Indeed, Reynoso’s campaign said the pair plan to formally announce the endorsement today at a noon press event in Sunset Park, home to Brooklyn’s Chinatown.
In a statement announcing his support, Liu called Reynoso a “powerful progressive voice.”
“As we begin to recover from this crisis, I know that as Borough President Antonio will fight for affordable housing, ensure our small businesses have the support they need to survive, and deliver a COVID recovery that uplifts all working people,” Lieu said. “Antonio has the skills and experience necessary to create a Brooklyn for all — that’s why I’m proud to support him for Borough President.”
The two politicos have a history of backing each other: Liu endorsed Reynoso for his 2013 City Council run, and Reynoso backed Liu when he ran for the State Senate in 2018. That race made Liu one of the first two Asian Americans elected to the Senate; before that he was the first Asian American elected to the City Council in 2001, and the first to win citywide office as comptroller in 2009.
Reynoso, whose parents hail from the Dominican Republic and who would be the first Latino elected to the Brooklyn Borough President’s office, called Liu “a trailblazer in the AAPI community.”
“As a legislator and former Comptroller, Senator John Liu has spent his entire career advancing equity and access through sound legislation and financial policy,” Reynoso said.
Over a dozen candidates are competing for the borough president’s seat, but fundraising disclosures and endorsement lists indicate the race is largely between four frontrunners: Reynoso, Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr., Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, and former Brookdale Hospital executive Khari Edwards.
Reynoso, who has looked to position himself in the race’s left lane, has the backing of progressives like the NY Working Families Party, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and State Senator Julia Salazar.
Elsewhere in the borough, Liu’s other endorsements in the borough include Democratic District Leader Ari Kagan, who is running to replace term-limited Mark Treyger in southern Brooklyn’s 47th Council District; former Council and City Hall staffer Mariya Markh in the nearby 48th Council District; and communications strategist April Somboun in north Brooklyn’s 33rd Council District.