PRIDE Democrats is especially proud to endorse YETTA KURLAND in a key
New York City contest for the 3rd Councilmatic District of Manhattan.
It comprises Chelsea, Greenwich Vollage and Clinton. The district has
been underrepresented and misrepresented by the embattled incumbent for
the past decade (1999 to 2009). An injection of real change is needed
immediately. The seat will hopefully change to a sincere and honest Gay
person who wants to provide genuine representation from another Gay
person one who is not and has not.

OutPOCPAC Endorses City Council Candidate Yetta Kurland over Speaker Christine Quinn - cites Kurland's 'solid credentials' and Quinn's 'failure to advance progressive issues'

New York, NY. July 23, 2009. Yetta Kurland, a civil rights attorney who is running to unseat Speaker Christine Quinn received yet another important endorsement today.

The endorsement is from OutPOCPAC, a New York City based non-partisan political club of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and two-spirit (LGBTTS) People of Color. The goal of the organization is to educate and unite diverse communities around a progressive and multi-faceted agenda of racial, economic, sexual and gender justice.

Yetta Kurland stated that she was "very honored to receive this endorsement." She went on to state "It is incumbent each of us to truly seek to empower all within our community. OutPOCPAC embodies this and is a vital force for social justice and an important voice in the work around coalition building in this City. I look forward to working with them to continue the fight to ensure human rights and civil liberties for all New Yorkers and I thank them for their endorsement and their work."

Co-President Pauline Park explained, "Yetta Kurland has solid credentials and is the most progressive candidate in the race, while Speaker Quinn has failed to use the power of her office to push a progressive agenda that would benefit the LGBT community. She was the principal advocate in the Council for Mayor Bloomberg's campaign to extend the term limits law."

Many have speculated that the term limits issue will be the tipping point for Speaker Christine Quinn causing her to lose the upcoming election on September 15th to Kurland who is running an aggressive campaign with a message of 'restoring the voice of the community' to the West Village, Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen. This endorsement from an LGBT club along with many other LGBT endorsements for Kurland is especially noteworthy given the assumption that Quinn's base is in the LGBT community.

I am especially honored to be able to announce that I have been endorsed by Democracy for New York City (DFNYC).

DFNYC is a local volunteer-driven non-profit political action committee which is part of a national coalition of community based groups committed to the principles of Democracy for America, the organization founded by Howard Dean.

This endorsement is especially important to me for many reasons.

One of them is that my first exploration in the world of electoral politics was volunteering on the Howard Dean campaign in 2004. It is especially meaningful for me, therefore, to receive DFNYC's endorsement in my run for City Council. It feels like a 'coming home'. I have a great sense of pride in being able to continue the tradition of speaking truth to power, now on a local level to bring change and integrity to city government.

In addition, this endorsement is important to me because I got involved with the Dean campaign because I felt so strongly that our national leadership had profoundly lost its way and misaligned with self interest and a total disregard for democratic principles.

It is very meaningful to me that this is the same struggle and same fight here in New York City government and I am honored to have DFNYC with me in this effort.

I hope to see you all on the streets and in the community in the weeks to come.

YETTA SCORES YET-TA 'NOTHER ENDORSEMENT!
This time with the New York Community Council

We are proud to announce that Yetta has received the endorsement of the New York Community Council. The New York Community Council is a City-wide council of activists committed to a number of progressive issues. This year the Council was particularly committed to the recent term limits issue, refusing to endorse any incumbent who had voted to extend term limits against the will of the peope. We thank the New York Community Council not only for their endorsement but their commitment to democracy and restoring the voice of our communities.

New York, NY, June 18, 2009. Yetta Kurland won the 504 Democratic Club's endorsement in yet another showing of widespread support for her bid to unseat Christine Quinn in the City Council seat in the 3rd District.

The 504 Democratic Club is the first democratic club in the country focusing on disability rights and their endorsement is crucial in getting the support of the disability community.

The Club stated that Kurland "has been extremely aware of disability concerns in her campaign. As a attorney, she has taken on many discrimination and civil rights cases, including disability related cases. Yetta would be an excellent addition to the Council and would be a terrific fighter for her District and our community."

Kurland, a longtime community organizer, educator and civil rights attorney said "I am honored to receive the support of the 504 Democratic Club and look forward to working to create real accessibility for all New Yorkers. The more accessible we make our City, and the more we build inroads and work together on shared goals of inclusiveness, the more we will be able to benefit as a community from the contributions of all our residents."

Kurland has been very successful in gaining support from a number of different voter bases, including not only the disability community but also humane voters, good government groups who are upset about Quinn's role in the extension of term limits, and her unwillingness to support the democratic candidate for mayor, as well as the LGBT community, once thought to be Quinn's base.

"I think it shows that we as a community here in the 3rd District are united in our diversity. We are looking for progressive change and a breath of fresh air in local government. I am running to be an independent voice that will fight for our community's interests in City Hall"

Kurland has also received several other endorsements including the Downtown Independent Democrats, The New York League of Humane Voters, GO Magazine, the New York Blade and Janeane Garofalo.

The Downtown Independent Democrats, which covers the northern part of the 3rd Councilmatic District overwhelmingly endorsed Yetta Kurland, a candidate running for City Council in the 3rd District. Kurland is running against incumbent Christine Quinn who is able to run again because she backed Mayor Bloomberg's controversial bill to extend term limits. The final vote count gave Kurland a landslide victory with an over 2 to 1 margin. Kurland, who is a civil rights attorney, longtime educator and community organizer had stated in a letter to the Club that this was "an historic race that will measure our ability to stand up to our elected officials when we feel they have lost their way and have stopped listening to the voce of our community."

The same night at the LGBT Community Center, the City-wide Stonewall Democratic Club held its endorsements with a large turnout of over 200 in which both Kurland and Quinn got over 100 votes, Quinn eking out a narrow win with only 8 more votes than Kurland. Given that Quinn and her supporters have heralded her as a "national leader" in the LGBT community and wielding considerable political power as the Speaker of City Council, many expected Quinn to do far better. But Kurland who has been a longtime member of the Club turned out a tremendous showing drawing more from the core membership while Quinn brought in new faces.

"I am delighted by the tremendous turnout for me and support from Stonewall. I think it shows this really is a very close race, not just within the broader progressive community, but also in the LGBT community as well."

Stonewall is a City-wide LGBT club. The LGBT community has been considered to be Quinn's base, while Kurland has found support in a wider range of voters, including those organized around the term limits debate, the large base of humane voters that have been vocal against Quinn, and voters upset with the fact that Quinn has refused to endorse a Democrat for Mayor. But Kurland recently received the endorsement of a couple of major LGBT papers, in specific New York Blade and GO magazine, and that coupled with Kurland's strong showing at Stonewall seems to indicate Kurland is holding her own in the LGBT community. In a letter to Stonewall Kurland had stated "It is not any individual elected official that is indispensable to our community, it is the commitment to public service and the principles of democracy that are indispensable."

The New York League of Humane Voters Announces Endorsement of Yetta Kurland for City Council Race in 3rd District

Thankfully, this September, voters in the West Village , Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen have the opportunity to elect Yetta Kurland as their representative for the 3rd City Council District.

New York League of Humane Voters (NYLHV) is proud to endorse civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland, who will challenge Quinn in the Democratic primary. Kurland is the antithesis of Quinn. A vegan and guardian of two adopted greyhounds (Sal & Luca), Kurland has not only pledged her support in the future as a Council Member, she’s been there already on the frontlines of animal advocacy. Kurland has attended numerous NYLHV events, spoken at press conferences in support of the pets in housing bill and testified at City Hall in support of a ban on horse-drawn carriages (extra kudos since the stables are in her district). Kurland walks the walk.

Yetta We Can!.

Visit the New York League of Humane Voters (NYLHV) online at nylhv.org

GO Magazine Endorses Yetta Kurland for NY City Council
Kurland is running for City Council in November and GO is behind her
by Julie Bolcer & Staff
March 11, 2009

In a year synonymous with political change and challenges, New Yorkers will have the opportunity in November to select fresh voices or familiar faces to serve them in citywide and local offices.

It wasn't always supposed to be that way.

New York Blade
Editorial: Blade Endorses Yetta Kurland for City Council

With Obama in the White House and a Democratic majority (barely) in the State Senate, we can now focus on Election Day 2009. The mayor and 36 of the 51 city council seats are up for re-election, so November could be game-changer for New Yorkers. We are excited to jumpstart the season with a hearty endorsement of Yetta Kurland for City Council in District 3. This includes the West Village, Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen and Clinton-certainly one of the gayest districts on the planet.