Working Families Party raises for Hakeem Jeffries against Towns, citing CAFTA and Issa
Hakeem Jeffries announcing his campaign for Congress. Reid Pillifant
2:56 pm Mar. 23, 2012
A few days after endorsing Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries' primary challenge to Representative Ed Towns, the Working Families Party emailed a fund-raising solicitation today calling the race "a clear choice for the 99%."
The email, signed by W.F.P. executive director Dan Cantor, cited Towns' support for CAFTA and for President Bush's bankruptcy reform bill, and accused Towns of "delaying oversight for subprime mortgage giant Countrywide to protect his own accounts." (Towns was allegedly part of the "Friends of Angelo" program run by former Countrywide C.E.O. Angelo Mozilo.)
On Monday, Towns convened a field hearing of the House Oversight Committee to address foreclosure at Brooklyn's Borough Hall, but the WFP hit him for that too, saying the panel lacked anyone who was going through foreclosure and calling the committee's chairman, Darrell Issa, "far right wing." (Other Brooklyn progressives, like Bertha Lewis, had harsher characterizations of Issa.)
The W.F.P. nod follows a string of labor endorsements for Jeffries, with some local labor leaders saying they'll make it the top priority in this year's congressional primaries. There's also talk of a significant independent expenditure. All of which could have a disproportionate effect this year, when the congressional primaries are scheduled to be the only races on the ballot in late June.
Also in the race is Councilman Charles Barron.
