League of Independent Theater Unveils First Round of Candidate Endorsements

The League of Independent Theater (LIT) has released their first round of endorsements in the 2017 New York City election races.

Many of the candidates chosen participated in LIT's Meet the Candidates forum in March at The Kraine Theater, where they were called upon to address the concerns of LIT's performing arts platform.

The endorsements are as follows: Scott Stringer for Comptroller, Christopher Marte for City Council District 1, Carlina Rivera for City Council District 2, Marti Speranza for City Council District 4, Ben Kallos for City Council District 5, Edward Santos for City Council District 8, Costa Constantinides for City Council District 22, Jimmy Van Bramer for City Council District 26, Laurie Cumbo for City Council District 35, Kathleen Daniel for City Council District 41, and Khader El-Yateem for City Council District 43.

More information is available at www.litny.org/2017-election.

"By showing up at our Meet the Candidates event, adding arts and culture sections on their website, and scheduling follow-up meetings, our endorsed candidates clearly see theater as a quality-of-life issue affecting all of their constituents," said Katie Palmer, Communications Director of LIT.

Community issues such as sustainable rehearsal and performance space, housing, and healthcare are the backbone of LIT's performing arts platform, which is detailed at www.litny.org/performing-arts-platform.

Candidates were selected by secret ballot among LIT's membership and confirmed by LIT's politics, research, and outreach working group. Another round of LIT endorsements will be announced in the coming weeks, followed by a press conference that will discuss those endorsements as well as LIT's planned activities to "Get Out The Vote" in select city races.

"Endorsing candidates and holding them accountable to their commitments is a direct way to get involved in our political process," said Guy Yedwab, Managing Director of Operations for LIT. "We are excited to partner with these passionate advocates who will fight for our community, and will mobilize to elect them in the fall."

LIT is the only 501(c)6 organization for the independent theater and performing arts population of New York City, serving the interests of many thousands of independent performing artists, 86% of whom vote regularly.

For more information about The League of Independent Theater, visit www.litny.org.