State Senator Adriano Espaillait picked up another campaign endorsement on Friday, a day after receiving the backing of his colleague in the Bronx, State Senator Gustavo Rivera.
The Espaillat campaign announced that the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association is backing Espaillat's bid for the 13th Congressional district in an email to reporters.
“From his support of New York’s working men and women, to his commitment on issues like affordable housing, job creation, and civil rights, Senator Espaillat has been a strong, progressive leader for all of us,” the union’s president, Norman Seabrook, said in a statement. “He will bring change to Congress and be the partner that President Obama needs in the House of Representatives.”
In a statement of his own, Espaillat said he was “honored” by the endorsement: “Together, we will bring the change sought by New York’s working class and poor people, and build a stronger country for all.”
The endorsement came on the heels of Senator Rivera’s endorsement yesterday. Rivera represents parts of the Bronx portion of the new congressional district, and ends a string of political endorsements by Puerto Rican elected officials supporting Espaillat’s chief rival, Congressman Charles Rangel.
In a statement, Rivera praised Espaillat’s work on immigrant, housing and education issues in the Senate, saying Espaillat will “bring the same passion and energy” to the nation’s capital as he did in Albany.
The Espaillat campaign this week also announced impressive fundraising figures. With only 11 days in March to fundraise before the filing deadline on the 31st, Espaillat raised just over $62,000 in contributions. Rangel, in comparison, raised a little over $67,000 over the first three months of 2012. No one was able to match the fundraising efforts of another candidate in the race, Clyde Williams, who pulled in over $113,000 over the last three months.
The biggest discrepancy in finances between Rangel and Espaillat, though, comes when the candidates compare what they have in the bank: Rangel has more than $226,000 on hand, while the newcomer has $56,000 or so.