NEW YORK—The mayor, city council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and other council members announced on Wednesday their endorsement of Kathy Hochul for lieutenant governor.
Mayor de Blasio hailed Hochul as a “true progressive,” saying that he relates to her status as an underdog, noting how he upended early predictions in last year’s mayoral race to emerge victorious.
De Blasio said he and his wife, Chirlane McCray, campaigned for Hochul at Brooklyn senior centers yesterday.
Hochul’s views while serving in congress were recently attacked by opponent, Tim Wu and gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout, describing them as against Democratic Party values.
Speaker of the council Mark-Viverito added endorsement, dispelling criticisms of Hochul’s voting record and noting Hochul’s support of marriage equality, pro-choice legislation, the Dream Act, and legislation that would allow legal status for certain undocumented immigrants.
I am so proud to be here with these individuals @BilldeBlasio @MMViverito pic.twitter.com/lDzNjQsb4a
— Kathy Hochul (@KathyHochul) September 3, 2014
Immigration
During the press conference, Hochul touted her pro-immigration stance, telling voters that she was a child of immigrant parents herself. Her family started out from humble beginnings, she said, living in a trailer by the Bethlehem Steel plant upstate.
“We lived the American dream,” Hochul said.
She also supports issuing ID cards to undocumented immigrants, though when she served as county clerk under former governor Eliot Spitzer, Hochul opposed issuing driver’s licenses to them.
