Obama in New York last month for Al Sharpton’s National Action Network Convention.Photo: Getty Images
New York is Hillary Clinton’s home turf, but tomorrow Barack Obama will receive his first formal endorsement from a New York elected official, State Senator Bill Perkins, according to a knowledgeable source. Obama has been able to poach several big-money backers from his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination — he’s got several more fund-raisers scheduled in the city this weekend — but Perkins, a longtime Harlem politician, will be the first elected to formally support the Illinois senator. The endorsement is likely to ruffle the feathers of Harlem boss Charlie Rangel, a Hillary supporter, who recently declared, “I don’t know Obama supporters in New York.” It’s not the first time Perkins has gone against the Harlem establishment: He supported Howard Dean in the 2004 primary, when Rangel was supporting General Wesley Clark. “It’s all posturing, all game playing,” said one Harlem political strategist. “He’s trying to make the eye in the sky look at him.” Perkins hasn’t returned a call for comment. —Geoffrey Gray
