Kevin Kim (l.) and Grace Meng (r.) endorse Ed Braunstein (c.) for state Assembly.
State Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and former city Council candidate Kevin Kim endorsed Ed Braunstein for the seat state Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza (D-Bayside) is vacating this fall.
Braunstein, 29, has served on Community Board 11 for more than a year and said he wants to help address local issues in Northeast Queens.
Meng said that as an Assemblywoman and fellow attorney, she is excited to support Braunstein’s candidacy.
“I’m looking forward to him, he’s very energetic,” she said at an endorsement event Thursday morning. “And he’s proven himself to be someone who reaches out to all communities, and that’s important because his district is becoming more diverse.”
Kim, who lost to Republican Dan Halloran in last year’s city election to fill former city Councilman Tony Avella’s seat, said that Braunstein volunteered for his campaign last year and that he found him to be a dedicated person who would serve Northeast Queens well.
“He has a strong character and demeanor which will serve him well in Albany and I trust that Ed will be responsive to the needs of the Korean-American community,” Kim said.
Braunstein has come under fire for being too much of an insider as a result of his seven years working at state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s (D-Manhattan) office, but Meng said that experience will help him in Albany if he is elected.
“I know in the papers it said he worked for the speaker, for example,” she said. “But in this bad economy it’s important to have someone who has experience in the Assembly and with constituents.”
Braunstein said that he admired and respected both Meng and Kim, and that he looked forward to working with them in the future.
“I am proud and honored to have the support of Assemblywoman Grace Meng and Kevin Kim,” he said.
Braunstein will face off against three Democrats in the September primary, including Bayside attorney Steve Behar, who ran for former City Councilman Tony Avella’s seat last year; John Duane, a former assemblyman in the district and brother of state Sen. John Duane (D-Manhattan); and Whitestone attorney Elio Forcina.
The winner of the primary will face Republican Vince Tabone, who works as an attorney for John Catsimitidis’ Manhattan-based Red Apple Group.