PHOTOS BY ERIK BOTTCHER
Campaigning for Democratic candidate Perr y Gershon for Congress in Suffolk County.
Another one rides the bus: Dems were on a roll BY LINCOLN ANDERSON
D
owntowners didn’t have competitive races on the ballot in their districts this election cycle. So local politicos went to where the action was — whether elsewhere in the state or out of state. Starting on Sept. 15, members of an effort called Blue Wave 2018 chartered Greyhound buses on weekends and, leaving from Union Square, they went to campaign for Democrats in key races in the metro area. They targeted Districts 1, 2 and 19 in New York State. G.O.P. Congressmembers Lee Zeldin and Peter King ultimately hung onto the first two districts, which are both on Long Island. But in the Hudson Valley’s District 19,
Antonio Delgado toppled incumbent Republican Representative John Faso. The activists also bused it out to two districts in New Jersey and even one in Pennsylvania. They targeted competitive races within 200 miles of New York City. All told, close to 250 volunteers forayed out in from 15 to 20 buses during the effort. The goal of the door-knocking drive was to make sure that Democrats got out to the polls. Key organizers were Erik Bottcher, Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s chief of staff; Tony Hoffmann, former president of Village Independent Democrats; Greater New York City for Change, and Hell’s Kitchen Democrats.
Corey Johnson, New York’s Cit y Council speaker, was up in District 19 in the Hudson Valley this past weekend door-knocking for Antonio Delgado.
To read more about Blue Wave 2018, see thevillager.com.
Local Democratic club members logged a lot of miles during the bus effor t, but enthusiasm remained high.
All aboard the Blue Wave express!
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November 8, 2018
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