It's Official: Cornegy Announces Run, Rolls Out Endorsements

Robert E. Cornegy, Jr. on Monday officially announced he will be running for a second term as District Leader in the 56th A.D., representing Bedford-Stuyvesant and parts of Crown Heights and Bushwick.

Not exactly new news. But now it's official.

Along with his announcement, Cornegy rolled out a long list of endorsers including Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, State Senator Eric Adams, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Assembly members Karim Camara, Rafael Espinal, Vito Lopez, Annette Robinson, City Council members Letitia James, Stephen Levin and Al Vann, amongst others.

Senator Adams said Cornegy has shown outstanding service to Brooklyn as a community activist and organizer and a true advocate for his constituency throughout his tenure as District Leader.

"Robert Cornegy is a man who understands and appreciates the value of family, raising his children to be respectful and honest," said Assemblywoman Robinson. "He is always looking for ways to improve the quality of life for all the residents in the 56th A.D. For these reasons and without hesitation, I am endorsing Robert Cornegy Jr. for re-election as the District Leader/State Committeeman for the 56th Assembly District.”

Aside from serving as district leader, Cornegy works as a legislative policy analyst for the Committees on Aging and Veterans Affairs in the New York City Council. He serves on the Youth, Education and Safety Task Force for Community Board 3 and earlier this year, was named the new president of the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association (VIDA).

Cornegy is a delegate to the Democratic National Convention for President Barack Obama. He also is the founder of "The Cornegy Residence," an 18-bed shelter for men suffering from substance-abuse and mental health related issues.

Cornegy's sole opponent so far is Albert Wiltshire, who currently serves as chief of staff for Congressman Ed Towns. Wiltshire has not made an official announcement about his plans to run, but he confirmed to Bed-Stuy Patch that he has in fact thrown his hat into the race.

"I will be making a formal announcement soon," said Wiltshire. "But I'm already out there campaigning."

Although you may not recognize his name, make no mistake, Wiltshire has been thoroughly entrenched in Bedford-Stuyvesant's politics for decades, just behind the scenes.

He has been a member and served as chairman emeritus of the board of directors at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp.; he's listed as a trustee at the Brooklyn Public Library and the Wyckoff Medical Center; and he's served as vice chair of the board of directors for the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the National Grid Foundation.

Among his endorsers, Wiltshire lists Rep. Ed Towns and Rep. Nydia Velazquez-- two New York congressional heavyweights, but still about ten endorsers short of Cornegy's list of backers.

"I just feel that I want to stay involved," said Wiltshire of his reason for running. Wiltshire's bid comes on the heels of Ed Towns's decision not to run for reelection during the 2012 primaries.

"I've been involved for the last 30 years, but I've been very active in the community, so I felt running as district leader would give me an opportunity to stay active and improve conditions. I'm not going to get into what Cornegy has or has not done. I'm running on my record and service to my community. I just think that I can bring more to the table than Mr. Cornegy."