Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand backs Curran for county exec

Noah Manskar
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D)

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand backed Democrat Laura Curran for Nassau County executive Monday in the local race’s first endorsement by a statewide official.

Gillibrand, a Democrat from the upstate Hudson Valley, said Curran, a second-term county legislator from Baldwin, has the “leadership and vision” to restore trust in Nassau’s government.

“We in Washington need partners in local government who stand up for what’s right and have the vision to lead their counties in the right direction,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “I have no doubt that Laura Curran will be one of those partners.”

Gillibrand is the latest federal representative to make an endorsement in the race to replace Republican County Executive Edward Mangano, who was indicted on federal corruption charges last fall and has failed to get on the ballot with an established political party.

U.S. Reps. Kathleen Rice and Tom Suozzi and their predecessors, former Reps. Carolyn McCarthy and Steve Israel, previously endorsed Curran.

Former state Sen. Jack Martins, the Republican county executive candidate, has the support of Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).

Some 20 labor unions and the national political committee EMILY’s List have also supported Curran, while Martins has backing from more than 30 current and former Nassau County village officials.

George Maragos, the Democratic county comptroller and Curran’s primary challenger, is not seeking endorsements from unions or other special interest groups for his self-funded campaign.

Maragos posted photos of emails to Twitter in July showing that he declined the chance to be interviewed for endorsements from four groups, including Planned Parenthood of Nassau County and the Long Island Federation of Labor.

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