Weekly Update (4/18/08)

DAPAC Endorses Steve Harrison (NY 13)
DAPAC is proud to announce its seventh endorsement for the 2008 Congressional election: Steve Harrison. He joins Dan Seals, Jared Polis, Sam Bennett, Jim Himes, Mary Jo Kilroy, and Victoria Wulsin as DAPAC's endorsed candidates running for the US House of Representatives in 2008. This fall he will be running against Vito Fossella in New York's 13th Congressional district in a rematch from the 2006 Congressional cycle.

In addition, He will be facing tough opposition in his Democratic primary from a more conservative candidate. It is crucial that Harrison wins his primary, so he will be the Democratic challenger in the general election. This cycle, a Democrat should take Fossella's place and bring progressive leadership to the district.

Harrison is a truly progressive candidate (he has already been endorsed by legendary feminist activist Gloria Steinem and The Progressive Democrats of America), supporting all of the issues we at DAPAC champion, while his Democratic opponent for the primary is not. Steve is 100% pro-choice, supports same-sex marriage, wants to take immediate steps to end the war in Iraq, supports publicly funded, single payer, universal healthcare, strong environmental protection, and many others. He has pledged to vote for these crucial issues once in Congress. DAPAC is proud to add him as a newly endorsed candidate.

In 2006, when Steve Harrison ran for Congress it was because he was frustrated by incumbent Vito Fossella's blind support for George Bush, and his lack of respect for our Constitution. Dan shocked the pundits by amassing 43.2% of the vote - a Democratic record - despite being outspent 13 to 1. In the process, he bankrupted Fossella's $1.5M war chest.

Steve grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and has maintained a life-long commitment to community preservation by forging an emotional connection to his home. Now, as a son, a husband a father, a brother, a lawyer and a small business owner, he understands the challenges faced by people throughout his district. Steve and his wife of 34 years - and both of their children – continue to live in Bay Ridge.

For decades, Steve has been active in local governmental, educational, political and civic organizations. As Chair of Community Board 10, he spearheaded many initiatives including the largest rezoning in Brooklyn's history.

With the 2% boost that traditionally is associated with the Democrat's new "Line-A" ballot position, Steve heads into the 2008 election needing to close a gap of less than five points.

Please help support Steve Harrison in his campaign by sending a donation made payable to “Friends of Stephen Harrison,” to us at DAPAC where we can forward it along to him.

You can find more information about our endorsed candidates for the 2008 cycle, targeted districts, links to candidates' web pages, the latest news, and more on DAPAC's website: www.dapac.org. Please take the time to visit, where you can find additional information about Steve Harrison, as well as our other endorsed candidates: Dan Seals, Jared Polis, Sam Bennett, Jim Himes, Mary Jo Kilroy, and Victoria Wulsin.