The following op-ed was submitted by Chelsea resident Russell Orenstein, a friend of Tom Greco, who’s one of three Democratic candidates for Tom Duane’s seat in the State Senate.
There is a discernible difference between the candidates running in this year’s election for the newly drawn 27th State Senate District in Manhattan.
Tom Greco, a business owner and community activist from Hell’s Kitchen, is the best choice. The record of Greco’s opponent, Brad Hoylman, is dubious at best. Sure, he is the hand-picked selection of the Democratic establishment in Manhattan. But in times like these we deserve something more in who represents us than the result of political deal making and pre-determined coronations. After all, this is Manhattan and we are New Yorkers. As voters, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard of what we expect from our elected leaders, and owe it to ourselves to do the necessary research in finding out who the candidates really are, their records and what they truly stand for.