VID for Siegel, NARAL for Gillibrand, Johnson for Bloomberg (and Unemployment)

The Village Independent Democrats just announced their endorsements for the primaries. It's not the biggest Democratic club, but it's influential around these parts. The VID made mostly expected choices, among them Bill Thompson for Mayor, John Liu for Comptroller, and Richard Aborn for Manhattan D.A. For public advocate, though, they went with a real dark horse: former New York Civil Liberties Union president Norman Siegel, who is polling 27 points behind former PA Mark Green (but ahead of councilmembers Eric Gioia and Bill de Blasio, who are also contending).

Speaking of endorsement, even though she doesn't have to run till next year, Kirsten Gillibrand just lined up a big one: the New York chapter of the preeminent abortion-rights group NARAL. Its president explained the way early endorsement thus: "If we can avoid a bloody primary by endorsing early, we want to be a part of that... We don't want to risk this seat in a general election." We wonder what Carolyn McCarthy thinks of this.

Whatever she thinks, NARAL's endorsement can't possibly backfire any worse than what Joyce Johnson claims her endorsement of Mike Bloomberg did to her: the former head of the non-profit Black Equity Alliance says she was kicked out because she backed the Mayor. She has brought a lawsuit, saying the board did not want someone as CEO and president who was "white and Jewish," and that BEA was prepared to keep Bloomberg from being elected "even by unlawful means." We wonder: Did she also report them to Homeland Security?