Dem club backs Scott, some quit
Several members of the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC quit Thursday in protest over the group’s decision to continue endorsing embattled mayoral candidate Scott Stringer.
Executive vice president Brian Romero announced his resignation minutes after the landmark LGBTQ group declared that their endorsement of Stringer would remain because not enough of their members voted to rescind it.
“I believe survivors. I believe women,” Romero wrote in a retweet of the group’s 8:50 a.m. announcement. “I won’t enable the upholding of white cispatriarchy which harms so many each day.”
Members John Blasco, a district leader for the state Assembly, and City Council candidate Chris Sosa followed suit with their own resignation announcements on Twitter.
“The stories of POC survivors are often not believed — especially by white men, including those who are gay ... I sat in this virtual meeting and watched as some members wrote harmful rhetoric in the chat,” Blasco wrote.
“This is embarrassing and infuriating ... I oppose white cispatriarchy. I will always do my best to stand for what’s right,” Sosa wrote.
The Stonewall Democrats said that less than a two-third majority of their voting members opted to withdraw the endorsement in an emergency meeting Wednesday evening.
“It was a very close vote, with one vote making the difference and I know that many are disappointed in the result,” the political group said in a written statement.
The vote was less than a ringing endorsement of the embattled city comptroller, who has seen his support crater since a former campaign volunteer recently accused him of unwanted sexual advances two decades ago.
The Stonewall Democrats suggested they might not be too active on Stringer’s behalf, noting that “we urge everyone to get involved in a local Council, Borough President or DA race, where we can really make a difference.”
Stringer was running neck and neck in the polls with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, behind frontrunner Andrew Yang, before the bombshell allegations dropped.