🐦 Sept 15, 2016 | Bernie Sanders to headline NY Working Families Party Gala

BY KEN LOVETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, August 29, 2016, 4:12 AM

The state Working Families Party’s recent endorsement of Hillary Clinton hasn’t ended its love affair with her Democratic primary opponent, Bernie Sanders.

Sanders will headline the minor party’s Sept. 15 18th annual dinner in New York City. The Working Families Party had supported Sanders over Clinton and only endorsed her after the Vermont senator conceded the fight.

"Sen. Sanders sparked a grassroots revolution that engaged millions of activists and small donors in New York and across the country and changed the debate, reminding Americans what is best about our country - our values of justice, decency, and solidarity," said Bill Lipton, state director of the New York Working Families Party."

Sanders in a statement said he still intends to work with the leftist party moving forward.

"The political revolution was never about any one candidate or any one election,” the Vermont senator said. "For almost two decades, the Working Families Party has been leading the fight for economic, social, and racial justice, recruiting and electing candidates who commit to that vision, and then holding them accountable to the people, not the billionaires. It is an honor for me to join the New York WFP at their gala this year to celebrate 18 years of their work in New York state as we look forward to building our revolution together, this November and beyond."

The WFP's endorsement of Sanders of Clinton added to the existing tensions between the party and a number of the big unions that funded them. The Daily News previously reported that tensions began over disagreements on whether to endorse Gov. Cuomo's reelection in 2014. The party ultimately backed the governor, but several big unions left the party, pulled their funding or both.

Those close to the party said having Sanders at the annual event shows the party is still viable and strong, though others say it remains a weakened force.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bernie-sanders-headline-ny-working-families-party-gala-article-1.2769283