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Sunday, August 21, 2005

NYT: We endorse Gur Tsabar

On Christmas Eve, Gur Tsabar, a candidate for New York City Council joined the Swing State Project conversation. At the time, I remember thinking that it was a sign of some serious enthusiasm on the part of the candidate. Since then, his enthusiasm has been noticed and it even helped land him the New York Times endorsement:

No fewer than seven Democrats are promising to find solutions to this diverse district's problems, from the proliferation of noisy bars to the lack of affordable housing. Strong contenders include Rosie Mendez, the smart and personable party district leader and former chief of staff to Margarita Lopez, the departing councilwoman. Brian Kavanagh, who worked for Gail Brewer, a councilwoman from the Upper West Side, was the first to advocate lobbying Albany to gain local control over liquor licensing, which could help to manage the loud bars.

But Gur Tsabar, a former member of the staff of Council Speaker Gifford Miller, has distinguished himself with a campaign run on ideas and action fueled by a contagious enthusiasm. He has combined the nuts-and-bolts activities like gathering petition signatures with efforts to help the community, including a clothing drive and collecting used cellphones for distribution among the elderly. In a unilateral rejection of so-called "pay to play" money, he gave to community organizations about $3,000 in donations that came from people who do business with the city. Mr. Tsabar has made a point of campaigning in all corners of the district and pledges to hold meetings regularly with constituents where they live. Combined with his experience with the inner workings of the Council, he is exactly the kind of representative the district needs. We endorse Gur Tsabar.

Go Gur!

Posted at 12:21 PM in New York | Technorati