Chivalry is dead: Nadler tells Maloney to step aside

U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) on Tuesday denied that sexism played any part in his demanding that  U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn) step aside as the two longtime lawmakers vie for the same Congressional seat.

The Aug. 23 primary matchup comes as a court-ordered redistricting plan reconfigured Nadler’s current 10th Congressional district, which covers the West Side of Manhattan before zig-zagging through several Brooklyn neighborhoods to include most of Lower Manhattan and Northern Brooklyn. It then moved Nadler’s Upper West Side base into Maloney’s newly reconfigured 12th District making one Central Manhattan congressional district.

“Any claims of sexism are thoroughly baseless and without merit. I am running in the district I live in – a district that includes neighborhoods I’ve proudly represented for many years,” said Nadler.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to provide principled, progressive leadership to all the people, who like me, call New York’s 12th District home. This district belongs to no one but the voters – it is they who will decide their representation. I look forward to making my case to them over the coming months,” he added.

Nadler’s comment came in reply to an explosive PoliticsNY interview with Maloney, where in the following short clip she  vividly recounts how Nadler told her to step aside and intimated sexism played a big part in his demand.

Maloney further maintained in the interview that while the matchup against Nadler wasn’t anything she wanted she is not one to back down.

“I think it’s important, especially in this time when they’re trying to chip away – not just chip away, bulldoze women’s rights into the ground, it’s important to have strong female leadership. The new 12th includes over 60% of my current district and only 38% of his district. He could’ve run in New York 10, which includes a large portion of his district he’s already represented for 30 years in Congress, especially the parts in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, but regretfully he chose to run against me in my district,” said Maloney.

Maloney noted she was the first woman to have a baby while in the city council at a time when some castigated her for continuing to work after having the child. The battle for women to control their own body via Roe v. Wade and women rights in general remains one of her top focuses in Congress, Maloney said.

Nadler who has rarely had a serious primary challenge since first being elected to congress in 1992 refused an open invitation to be video interviewed by PoliticsNY’s Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist Jane Hanson.

“While we appreciate the courtesy of an invitation, the Congressman unfortunately won’t be able to participate in the video interview,” said Julian Gerson, Nader’s campaign manager.

Also running in the Aug. 23 primary is Suraj Patel.

-Ethan Stark-Miller, Anna Donch, Toni France and Jane Hanson contributed to this story