'Oversight' at 1199

The fallout from an important health care union’s endorsement in the Riverdale/Kingsbridge City Council race continued to grow last week.

A source familiar with 1199 SEIU’s reasoning for picking former Community Board 8 chairman Tony Perez Cassino over the incumbent, Oliver Koppell, told The Press last week that the union believed Mr. Koppell never got in touch with them. Mr. Koppell countered that he had been courting 1199 since January.

Mr. Koppell’s campaign released e-mails and phone logs to The Riverdale Press and others last week proving that, as the councilman said, he has formally sought 1199 SEIU’s endorsement for months.

Mr. Koppell saw the union’s decision as an upset. The union had endorsed him in his two previous City Council campaigns.

Mr. Koppell’s campaign aide, Arthur Heller, provided e-mails to 1199 from Mr. Koppell’s campaign dated as early as March requesting an interview.

Mr. Heller said in an e-mail that he was told, after sending a follow-up message to the union in April, that there was no time frame for meeting candidates.

Based on those e-mails and phone logs, the health care workers’ union now says Mr. Koppell’s request for an endorsement was lost in the mail.

“After looking into this matter, we acknowledge receipt of these e-mails from Councilmember Koppell’s re-election campaign,” said 1199 spokeswoman Leah Gonzalez. “We sincerely regret the oversight, but ultimately our endorsement decision was based on a multitude of factors, not any one particular issue.”

Mr. Koppell was not surprised at 1199’s admission.

“They didn’t lose this in the mail. They weren’t going to endorse me,” he fumed, later adding, “it has nothing to do with getting lost in the mail. It’s a lot of hokum.”

This is part of the August 13, 2009 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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