PHILADELPHIA — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak, aiming to show he is not a party-line politician, set out to woo independent voters Tuesday with an endorsement from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg, a three-term mayor who left the Republican Party to become an independent, said Sestak has the courage to buck Democratic leadership if it’s the right thing to do for his constituents.
“Leadership, independence, results — those are Joe Sestak’s values and they are mine as well,” said Bloomberg.
The half-hour event was held at recently rehabilitated strip mall in low-income North Philadelphia, providing a backdrop for talk of rejuvenating cities and small businesses and creating jobs.
Sestak, a congressman representing the Philadelphia suburbs, is running for the seat held by Sen. Arlen Specter. Sestak beat Specter in the primary and now faces Republican Pat Toomey.
Toomey spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik dismissed Bloomberg’s endorsement in a statement Tuesday, saying, “The only time Joe Sestak has stood up to his own party is when he thought they weren’t spending enough.”
Sestak said he’ll look out for Pennsylvania’s interests, “politics be damned.”
“I’ll do what’s right for the people that matter,” he said.
Bloomberg, who met Sestak on Tuesday for the first time, said he backs the candidate’s push to expand a small-business innovation program, his efforts to close a loophole in gun-control laws and his support for a health and compensation package for 9/11 responders.
Afterward, in response to reporters’ questions, Bloomberg reiterated his support for a mosque and Islamic community center near ground zero in New York.
Sestak, while not backing the mosque project specifically, noted he spent 31 years in the Navy defending constitutional rights to religious freedom and separation of church and state.
“This an issue for New York to resolve as long as it respects those constitutional rights,” Sestak said. “Let’s stop playing politics with religion.”
Afterward, the men got cheesesteaks to go at a market in the shopping center. Bloomberg then left for Washington, D.C., to endorse Democratic Mayor Adrian Fenty for re-election.
