Bichotte Endorses de Blasio For President

FLATBUSH – Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte, who represents Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood and Ditmas Park, in a Daily News op-ed on Wednesday endorsed the mayor as he runs in a crowded Democratic primary field.

“[H]e has shouldered huge responsibilities and consistently achieved results we can be proud of,” Bichotte wrote.

Bichotte, the first Haitian-American to be elected to the state legislature to represent a part of New York City, went on to say that she has liked Mayor Bill de Blasio for a long time and was “struck” by the then-public advocate’s “uncompromising character.”

“When de Blasio first ran for mayor as an insurgent, anti-establishment candidate, pundits wrote him off. But he knew something they didn’t: The neighborhoods that I represent were suffering,” wrote Bichotte. “While flashy candidates were busy pleasing special wealthy interests groups, de Blasio kept it real. He stood up against the 1%, wealthy developers, aggressive policing, and the socio-economic inequities that divided New Yorkers into a “tale of two cities.”

Bichotte, a former public school teacher, cited de Blasio’s support for universal pre-K, raising the minimum wage and efforts on protecting tenants as the mayor’s upsides.

De Blasio so far has few home-city endorsements, though he did recently receive a union endorsement from the Hotel Trades Council. But Bichotte, who has consistently endorsed him over the years, sees reason to back the mayor.

“I, a black woman, a Haitian-American, a union baby, a former public school teacher and now a public leader, am proud to stand with him.”