Cumbo files over 10,000 signatures to run for council

July 9, 2013 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Laurie Cumbo, a candidate for the Democratic nomination to run for the City Council seat in Fort Greene, has filed more than 20 times the required number of petition signatures with the New York City Board of Elections, according to her campaign.

Cumbo, who filed her signatures on July 9, two days before the July 11 deadline, presented more than 10,000 signatures. Under New York City election law, the required number of signatures a candidate must file to get his or her name on the ballot for a primary is 450.

“I am humbled by the outpouring of support for my candidacy and thankful for those who signed my petition,” Cumbo said, calling her campaign a grassroots effort. “The strength of this grassroots operation will be instrumental to the success of my campaign. The people of the 35th District have shown that they believe in my vision, and know that I will be a tireless advocate for all residents when I’m in the City Council,” she said.

Cumbo is one of several candidates running in the Sept. 10 primary hoping to succeed Letitia James (D-Fort Greene-Clinton Hill-parts of Bedford Stuyvesant), the popular councilwoman representing the 35th Council District. James is running for public advocate.

Marilyn Mosley, president of Progressive Association for Political Action, was among the political leaders who helped Cumbo gather the thousands of signatures. “It was an honor to help her get an incredible 10,000 signatures, which demonstrate her robust backing and substantive message,” Mosley said. “We are excited by her recent success and look forward to continuing the groundwork and mobilizing our members for the remainder of the campaign,” she said.

Cumbo has been endorsed by several unions, including the UFT, 1199 SEIU, Doctors Council SEIU, the Hotel and Motel Trades Council, the TWU, and the Steamfitters Local Union 638. The Working Families Party and Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn are also supporting her council run.

Cumbo, a former graduate professor in the School of Art & Design at Pratt Institute, also helped establish Brooklyn’s first Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts. She incorporated MoCADA as a 501c3 non-profit institution with support from community leaders in Bedford Stuyvesant and other neighborhoods. She ahs also worked at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, WNET Channel 13, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The candidates for the council seat include: Democratic District Leader Jesse Hamilton; former district leader Ola Alabi; Ede Fox, the former chief of staff for Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-Flatbush); and Jelani Mashariki, the founder of Black Veterans for Social Justice.