Councilman Robert Jackson is rolling out his high-profile allies in the Harlem political establishment to help him celebrate his birthday and raise money for his bid to be Manhattan borough president later this month. Former Mayor David Dinkins sent out an email this afternoon announcing a fundraiser and birthday celebration for Mr. Jackson that he will be attending along with Congressman Charlie Rangel, State Senator Bill Perkins and Councilwoman Inez Dickens on December 17.
“Robert Jackson is an effective and energetic fighter who understands the challenges we face in this borough and has proven that he can get the job done,” Mr. Dinkins wrote. “He has been a strong, hard-working, progressive leader in the City Council, and I have great confidence that he will continue to advocate for measures that promise to improve the lives of all the people of the Borough of Manhattan.”
Mr. Jackson, who is prevented from running for re-election to the Council by term limits, is set to face Community Board 1 Chair Julie Menin and Councilwoman Jessica Lappin in the race for the borough presidency. Though Mr. Jackson has ramped up his fundraising efforts in recent months, the $141,284 in his campaign account is currently dwarfed by the war chests of his rivals. According to the latest campaign finance reports, Ms. Menin currently has $956,490 for her campaign and Ms. Lappin has $534,487.
Another probable candidate in the race is Councilwoman Gale Brewer, who is also term-limited and has yet to file with the city’s campaign finance board. Back in February, Ms. Brewer told Politicker she was “definitely” going to run, but hadn’t organized an official campaign because she was “working on so many different issues.”
Read Mr. Dinkins’ full message about the event for Mr. Jackson below:
Dear Hunter –
I’m joining Congressman Charlie Rangel, Senator Bill Perkins, Councilmember Inez Dickens, Geoffrey Canada and a host of elected and community leaders on December 17th as we celebrate Councilmember Robert Jackson’s birthday and raise money for his campaign to be Manhattan’s next Borough President.
You can get more information and RSVP here.
Robert Jackson is an effective and energetic fighter who understands the challenges we face in this borough and has proven that he can get the job done. He has been a strong, hard-working, progressive leader in the City Council, and I have great confidence that he will continue to advocate for measures that promise to improve the lives of all the people of the Borough of Manhattan.
You might think there is plenty of time to get involved, however I cannot stress enough how important it is to get involved now. With a critical year end campaign filing fast approaching, the time to step up is now. Your donation will do more and mean more if you make it now.
So please, come celebrate Robert Jackson’s birthday with us. It promises to be a good time for a great candidate. And even if you can’t be there with us, please click here to go to his web site and donate $100, $50 or whatever you can to Robert Jackson and to let me know that you are with us fighting to make a difference.
Please RSVP for the birthday party here.
Thank you for everything you do.
I look forward to seeing you on the 17th,
