Corey Johnson, a candidate for the west side city council seat now belonging to the term-limited Christine Quinn, is getting some high-powered help in his bid for office.
Two openly gay members of the House of Representatives–Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Jared Polis of Colorado–are hosting a fundraiser for Mr. Johnson–at a townhouse tonight in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington D.C.
Tickets go for $50-$150, but because the soiree is in Washington D.C, it is unlikely that very many of the people there will be city residents, and those any contributions will not be able counted in the city’s generous campaign finance matching program.
Mr. Johnson is one of the youngest community board chairs in the city, and has previously worked as an official for GLAAD. He faces some stiff competition in his first run for elected office, including civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland, who ran a fierce race against Ms. Quinn in 2009, and Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
It is worth noting that Mr. Frank, who is slated to retire at the end of the year, has been one of the foremost voices in Congress decrying the influence of money in politics.
