Governor Kathy taps former Van Bramer and Blaz aide for cabinet position

 

 NY Post

 Despite claiming that officials in her administration don’t support defunding police, Gov. Kathy Hochul has tapped a second person who does to a key post — a failed New York City Council candidate who wants to slash the NYPD budget by $3 billion.

On Friday, Hochul appointed Amit Bagga to be her deputy secretary for intergovernmental affairs. He lost the City Council primary in June for Queens’ District 26 seat despite support from Democratic socialist and defund proponent Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s political action committee.

Bagga’s archived campaign website, which was taken down last week, says he wants to cut the NYPD’s budget by $3 billion, or about a third, within two to four years. 

He also proposed reducing the size of the force by 5 percent, removing cops from public schools and mental health responses, and “decriminalizing all drugs.” 

In the 26th, Won won

Upset complete.

Not only did fauxgressive @JimmyVanBramer finish a distant third in the Queens boro prez race, but his chosen successor, candidate of the Working Families Party machine, lost to a community board member in LIC/Sunnyside. LOL. https://t.co/92Txd44NPX pic.twitter.com/sWUj7EnoGM

— Enrique in the BK 🦞 (@enrique_pause) July 7, 2021

Kingmaker Van Bramer

 

  LIC Post

 Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer has endorsed Amit Bagga from a sea of candidates vying for his seat in the City Council.

Van Bramer announced his endorsement in the midst of early voting and less than a week away from Election Day.

“In a crowded field, which includes several terrific candidates, I was proud to rank Amit Singh Bagga #1 when I went to vote this past Saturday,” he said in a statement. “Amit is smart, thoughtful, progressive, and has experience in government that will make him effective on day one.”

Van Bramer chose Bagga — the former deputy director of the NYC Census 2020 — out of 15 Democratic candidates on the ballot for the District 26 seat representing Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and parts of Astoria.

The council member said he would be announcing the names of five other candidates who he believes would be qualified to take his position in the coming days, but wanted to make it clear that Bagga is his top choice.

Van Bramer, who is running for Queens borough president, was previously tight-lipped on who he would endorse as his replacement. However his longtime chief of staff Matt Wallace endorsed Bagga in May and the candidate was spotted at a backyard fundraising event for Van Bramer’s borough president campaign the same month.