Bill De Blasio Supporting Laurie Cumbo In City Council Race: Report

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — Bill de Blasio is throwing his support behind incumbent Laurie Cumbo in her city council race defined, in part, by a major development back by the mayor, according to a Politico report.

While de Blasio hasn't offered an explicit endorsement, Politico reports that de Blasio is "quietly helping" Cumbo by sending her campaign volunteers, pushing unions to support her and giving her campaign "operational advice."

Cumbo's opponent, Ede Fox, has tried to make the race about the de Blasio-backed plan to turn the Bedford-Union Armory into a community rec center and condo tower.

Fox staunchly opposes the deal because it doesn't contain enough affordable housing and doesn't want the public land sold to a private developer. Cumbo, who defeated Fox in the race four years ago, has said she won't vote for the deal in its current form, but Fox has attacked her for not coming out against the plan earlier.

"A defeat for Laurie would be a defeat for the kind of strategy that underlies the armory project, which is essentially to leverage private-sector development to squeeze affordable units and other public benefits," an anonymous city councilmember told Politico.

Read the full Politico piece here.

Asked for comment, a spokesman for the Fox campaign pointed Patch to the statement she gave to Politico.

"Laurie Cumbo has spent four years in office working against the interests of our community. It's not surprising that she would rely on city officials to counteract her poor record and bolster her campaign," Fox told the website. "But, no amount of city press will undo the fact that she is not a champion for our families, and I am sure that the voters will see right through this on September 12th."

The Democratic primary between Fox and Cumbo in the district, which includes Fort Greene, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and parts of Bed-Stuy, has been one of the most heated in the city.

Last month, groups blasted Fox for sending out "factually dubious" campaign mailers saying Cumbo "sided with wealthy developers" on the armory plan.

Other candidates in the council race include Green Party members Jabari Brisport and Scott Hutchins along with Republican Christine Parker.

(Photo by Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images)