Daniel Squadron

At a press conference on the City Hall steps just now, incumbent State Senator Marty Connor was endorsed by the five members of Congress whose districts overlap with his: Ed Towns, Nydia Velazquez, Carolyn Maloney and Jerry Nadler. (Yvette Clarke is endorsing him too, but did not attend).

Afterward, I asked the group what they think of Chuck Schumer’s support of Connor’s opponent, Dan Squadron.

Nadler, the only one to answer the question, offered the following:

"Well, Chuck is entitled to put considerations of personal friendship over everything else that we have talked about, and he’s said that’s exactly what he has done. Marty’s opponent worked for Chuck, is the co-author of his book with him, and I understand a personal loyalty," Nadler said.  read more »

Here's video, sent over by an aide to Malcolm Smith, of the minority leader endorsing incumbent Marty Connor for re-election.

“Whoever is choosing to run against him unfortunately, I think, they made the wrong decision,” Smith said.

Connor is facing a challenge from first-time candidate Dan Squadron, a former aide to Chuck Schumer.

On July 29, a number of other Senate Democrats endorsed Connor, and fielded a few uncomfortable questions from reporters--one about Schumer’s support for Squadron, and another about why they were rallying around Connor now, after having ousted him from a leadership role a few years ago.

Smith was in Washington, D.C., that day, and today didn’t have to face questions since reporters weren’t told about the event. An aide said Smith had expected to attend the original event, so he was taking this opportunity to announce his support.

Pictured above is part of a mailing that Democratic State Senate candidate Dan Squadron is distributing to highlight his role in bringing transportation money back to New York.

Squadron, who is trying to unseat incumbent State Senator Marty Connor, has never held public office, but he used to be an aide to Chuck Schumer, and after that went to Knickerbocker SKD, a public relations firm that worked on work on the campaign for a bill called the Transportation Bond Act, which is what Squadron's mailer refers to.  read more »

The mailing says in large letters, “Where others had failed, Daniel Squadron helped win $2.9 billion for transportation.

Democratic State Senate candidate Dan Squadron decisively out-raised incumbent Marty Connor, who he's challenging.

According to the latest campaign finance filing (January 2008 to July 2008), Squadron raised $226,166.27, spent $122,031.26, and was left with $293,192.01 on hand.

Connor raised $120,555, spent $40,093.08 and has $82,962.92 on hand.

That's a significant disparity, but in addition, Connor has a second campaign committee, called The Connor Committee, which, according to the filing from the same period, is in debt for $45,513.43.

Since this January, that second Connor campaign committee spent $7,857.74, payments that include numerous political contributions. For example: The Connor Committee gave $500 to the Harry Truman Democratic Club, $300 to the Independent Neighborhoods Democrats, $500 to Downtown Independent Democrats and $500 to the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats.  read more »

Lewis Cohen, DFNYC finance director, is striking back against critics who were baffled by the organization's decision not to endorse in the race between State Senator Marty Connor and his challenger, former Chuck Schumer aide Dan Squadron.

Cohen said both candidates posed problems for the group’s progressive membership.

Some members of DFNYC didn’t think Connor had been outspoken enough on congestion pricing, Cohen told me, nor did they think that his work as an election lawyer raised “progressive confidence within this community.” There was also lingering unhappiness with Connor’s campaign tactics against his 2006 challenger, Ken Diamondstone, who many progressives preferred over Connor, Cohen says.  read more »

Here’s more endorsement news from the race between State Senator Marty Connor and his challenger, former Chuck Schumer aide Dan Squadron.

The Communication Workers of America Local 1 announced they are endorsing Squadron. For an insurgent, that's a major coup.

It's also worth noting that the union’s statement acknowledges there isn't much difference between the two candidates on policy:

Squadron's opponent—Senator Martin Connor—has been in office for decades. In the highly progressive 25th State Senate District, on many important issues the candidates profess similar, or even identical, views. Yet Squadron has the energy, fresh perspective and detailed understanding of the issues to effectively move legislation.  read more »

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Brooklyn’s oldest and largest gay Democratic club, Lambda Independent Democrats, endorsed neither  Representative Ed Towns nor his challenger, Kevin Powell, at its endorsement meeting last night. 

In the heated State Senate race between State Senator Marty Connor and his challenger, Dan Squadron, the club chose Connor. 

I've put in some calls to find out more--I'll update when I hear back. 

The full list of Lambda endorsements:  read more »

Dan Squadron is 28 years old, has never held a public office, and has already raised $205,153.33 in his bid to challenge 30-year incumbent Marty Connor for a state Senate seat, according to the most recent campaign filings.

Connor's numbers haven't been posted online yet, but I'm told he's raised less than $5,000.

When I asked his consultant Evan Stavisky, he told me Connor “hasn’t started fund-raising. He’ll raise and spend whatever it takes to successfully defend his seat."

Connor's campaign closed their July 2007 filing $38,217.60 in debt (although Connor says it was an accounting error).

More after the jump.

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