Street Vendor Who Helped Foil Times Square Bomb Plot to Run for Congress

Man's tips led cops to car bomb in heart of city in May 2010.

The hero street vendor who alerted police to a car bomb in Times Square plans to run for Congress in Westchester.

Duane Jackson was instrumental in helping cops diffuse the bomb-laden SUV terror suspect Faisal Shahzad admitted driving into the heart of the city on May 1, 2010.

At the time, Jackson was honored at Citi Field and thanked by city officials. Now he wants to be a public official himself.

“In Times Square gridlock, there’s a method to the madness,” Jackson told the New York Post. “In DC, they’ve lost their way, and they need a pathfinder compass.”

Jackson has held political positions before in other states, but he says his experience the night he helped thwart the Times Square bomb plot encouraged him to run in New York.

The 59-year-old Westchester man is a Navy veteran and Boston University graduate. He plans to challenge Rep. Nan Hayworth in the 19th Congressional District, comprised of parts of Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess counties and all of Putnam County.

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