News

Our Second Round of Endorsements

We’re happy to announce our second round of endorsements in the 2021 primary election cycle including Kathryn Garcia for NYC Mayor, Corey Johnson for NYC Comptroller, and Peter Van Scoyoc for East Hampton Supervisor.

We are also endorsing Vanessa Gibson and Fernando Cabrera for Bronx Borough President, Antonio Reynoso and Jo Anne Simon for Brooklyn Borough President, and eight remaining City Council candidates.

The candidates were instrumental in developing and passing policies to protect public health, safeguard the environment, and combat climate change. 

Kathryn Garcia is a leader who won’t only talk about climate change but will act.  She always made achieving Zero Waste her top priority as NYC Sanitation Commissioner. Garcia spearheaded the City’s overhaul of the private carting industry and helped create a Commercial Waste Zone program that will improve air quality, decrease traffic congestion, reduce pollution, and create better working conditions for workers. She launched the largest composting program in the U.S., helped ban styrofoam, and piloted the first fully electric refuse truck. She also proposed a comprehensive resiliency plan that will protect all communities along our 500 miles of coastline from future storms. Garcia is the champion we need in City Hall to fight the climate crisis.

During his time as Speaker, Corey Johnson sponsored bills to reimagine our streetscape and enact stricter lead poisoning prevention standards, two of NYLCV’s top priorities. He supported historic climate policies including bills to reduce emissions from buildings, expand micromibility, reduce waste, and repurpose Rikers Island. We are confident that as Comptroller he will build on these priorities, and hold the next Mayor accountable for implementing these laws to ensure New York City continues to lead on climate change.

Every election year, NYLCV develops candidate questionnaires based on the League’s policy priorities, including cleaning up the transportation sector, improving greenspaces, reducing waste, increasing resiliency, and building a clean energy future. Our New York City Chapter recommends endorsement decisions based on interviews with the candidates and questionnaire responses. In the case of candidates who previously served in the City Council, the board also considers the candidates’ scores on the 2020 NYLCV City Council Environmental Scorecard, which grades legislators based on votes and co-sponsorships of key environmental legislation. 

As we continue to fight the climate crisis, we must ensure that we elect leaders who will champion policies to build a sustainable economy, improve public health, and combat environmental injustice. The candidates we’ve endorsed each have a proven record of dedication to safeguarding the environment. We are confident that they will help create a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable future for New York City, and we encourage voters to support them in their upcoming elections.

The full list of endorsed candidates can be found below.

  • Kathryn Garcia, Mayor of NYC
  • Corey Johnson, Comptroller of NYC
  • Vanessa Gibson, Bronx Borough President
  • Fernando Cabrera, Bronx Borough President
  • Antonio Reynoso, Brooklyn Borough President
  • Jo Anne Simon, Brooklyn Borough President
  • Marjorie Velazquez, City Council 13
  • Juan Ardila, City Council 30
  • Henry Butler, City Council 36
  • Wilfredo Florentino, City Council 42
  • Shirley Paul, City Council 46
  • Steven David Patzer, City Council 47
  • Olivia Drabczyk, City Council 51
  • Kathy Sheehan, Mayor of Albany
  • Peter Van Scoyoc, Supervisor of East Hampton

The first round of endorsements was announced earlier in May.