Dean’s Support in Brooklyn Is Dualing, and Dueling

In a race with so many qualified liberals, Howard Dean couldn’t pick just one.

Mr. Dean, the former Vermont governor, presidential candidate and Democratic National Committee chairman, was in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning with Josh Skaller, a candidate for the New York City Council, greeting commuters at the F train stop on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope. Mr. Dean called Mr. Skaller “the next City Council member from District 39.”

But at the same time, Mr. Dean also endorsed, via press release, a rival of Mr. Skaller’s, Brad Lander. Mr. Skaller and Mr. Lander are both hoping to win the Democratic nomination for the 39th District Council seat, which is being vacated by Councilman Bill de Blasio, who is running for public advocate.

Mr. Lander said the dual endorsement was the result of Mr. Dean staying true to a promise he had made to Mr. Lander this year at a panel discussion.

“Governor Dean committed to me he wouldn’t pick sides between Josh and me, and I’m grateful he held to his word, and I’m thrilled to have his support,” said Mr. Lander, a longtime housing advocate.

Though Mr. Dean is backing both Mr. Skaller and Mr. Lander, he only made a public appearance with Mr. Skaller. And Mr. Lander said his campaign has not planned any appearances with Mr. Dean.

Mr. Skaller, a Park Slope resident who also has the support of Democracy for America, the grass-roots political group founded by Mr. Dean, worked on Mr. Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign in New York.

The 39th District includes neighborhoods like Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Kensington and Borough Park.

The two Dean-endorsed Democrats also face competition from three others in a crowded field hoping to win the Democratic party nomination on Sept. 15: John Heyer, an aide to Borough President Marty Markowitz; Gary Reilly, a lawyer and community board member; and Bob Zuckerman, who has worked on environmental issues around the Gowanus Canal.

Mr. Reilly discounted the significance of Mr. Dean’s endorsements.

“In a field like this, it comes down to retail politics,” he said. “Handshakes. Knocking on doors. An endorsement by prominent figures outside the district isn’t going to be the be-all, end-all in this race.”

Mr. Zuckerman said that while every candidate has endorsements, he felt the race would come down to voters deciding on candidates’ issues, not their backers. “It’s about solving the challenges that the district and New York is facing that will matter,” he said.