The New York Working Families Party’s state officers voted not to endorse Chuck Park’s Democratic primary challenge against Rep. Grace Meng on Thursday, two people familiar with the process told City & State. It’s a rare example of WFP’s leadership acting against the recommendations of both a local WFP chapter and the New York City Regional Advisory Council in the party’s final endorsement decision.
Meng did not apply for the WFP endorsement, and the WFP’s decision not to endorse Park means the progressive third party will not have any involvement in the Queens race. The WFP did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.
Last month, more than 90% of members in the Queens WFP chapter voted to recommend endorsing Park. The RAC – which includes representatives of WFP’s various local chapters and affiliated unions and grassroots community groups – passed the endorsement with a two-thirds majority earlier this week. While the RAC endorsement vote is merely advisory and the final endorsement decision is up to the WFP’s seven state officers, in practice, the state officers almost always follow the RAC’s recommendation. Not this time, though…