Raitport Campaigns on the Streets

By COLlive reporter

Jewish activists in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood are championing Menachem Raitport as having a good shot at the seat of the New York State Assembly District 43.

A special election for the position will be taking place on Tuesday, May 5, and the Democrat vote will be divided between three competing candidates due to a filing error.

Candidates vying for those votes are Shirley Patterson of the Independent Party, Diane Richardson of the Working Families & Green Parties and Geoffrey Davis of the Love Yourself Party.

Raitport, who ran in the past against the former Assemblyman Karim Camara and is now running on the Republican and Conservative party ticket, says this gives him a winnable chance.

“We will stand very strong on May 5th,” said Chanina Sperlin, Jewish community activist and the influential member of the Crown Heights Political Action Committee (PAC) in an endorsement video.

“I want to ask everybody to come out and vote. Make sure that your voice is counted. We can do it,” Sperlin said, noting that he hadn’t supported Raitport’s past runs but is supporting this campaign because “now we can do it.”

Raitport, sitting alongside Sperlin and fellow PAC member Zaki Tamir, said after accepting Sperlin’s endorsement: “This is our chance to shine and show the world that Crown Heights does make a difference.”

VIDEO:

Raitport has a chance last week to meet former Florida governor Jeb Bush, a possible Republican presidential candidate, at an event hosted by the Republican Club of Manhattan.

In his speech, Bush spoke about his support for Israel, his 5 visits there, and that he knows that “Israel is a true ally of America.” He also mentioned how he brought tuition vouchers to his state of Florida and how well it is working for religious and minority communities.

In a conversation following the speech, Raitport thanked Bush for his support and discussed the importance of education. “He pledged his help in implementing the vouchers in New York,” Raitport told COLlive.com.

On Tuesday, Raitport took to the streets of Crown Heights to campaign along with John Burnett, former NYC comptroller candidate, urging residents to Get Out The Vote on the special election on May 5.