POLITICAL ARENA

Younger Dinowitz gets early UFT nod

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There’s still more than a year before voters are expected to cast a ballot and decide who will succeed Andrew Cohen as this area’s city council representative. But one candidate with a political family legacy already has a major endorsement.

Eric Dinowitz, a special education teacher who also is the son of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, has earned an early nod of support from the United Federation of Teachers.

The endorsement wasn’t a tremendous surprise, considering Dinowitz is the only candidate who has entered the race so far who is a member of the union — a membership he has held since 2007, joining nearly 200,000 other educators in collective bargaining efforts.

“Throughout my career as a special education teacher, UFT has stood up for students, educators and our progressive values,” Dinowitz said, in a release, “advocating for better mental health services, improved resources for students with disabilities, and support so that our students and teachers thrive.”

The endorsement hasn’t come without some drama, however. Last May, Dinowitz took some heat after it was discovered his campaign website claimed UFT had already endorsed him.

“Eric is endorsed by UFT because of his commitment to strong public schools and a great education for all our children,” his website read at the time.

Dinowitz blamed that sentence on an “overzealous supporter,” and said that while the union had not yet endorsed him at the time, UFT had cut him a $2,800 check.

Dinowitz is challenged so far by Dan Padernacht, Dionel Then and Jessica Haller.

Eric Dinowitz, Jeffrey Dinowitz, United Federation of Teachers, UFT, Dan Padernacht, Dionel Then, Michael Hinman, Jessica Haller,

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