Tish James, the people's choice for Public Advocate
Not for myself – everything is fine here chez Sid, though my feet are wrecked. Instead, I am begging on behalf of one of the most awesome Democrats you are ever likely to see.
You may or may not have seen
this diary I wrote last week in support of a great progressive Democrat,
Letitia “Tish” James. If you did, you may have noticed that at the very end, I wrote,
If there's a runoff, you all will be hearing a lot from me, because that's when she will really need your help.
Well, there’s going to be a runoff in three short weeks, on October 1. Please follow me below the cheeto for analysis, strategy, and to find out what you can do to help elect her.
Much national attention has been focused on the mayoralty, but the downticket races can often make the difference between a mayor who serves the people who elected him or her, a mayor who serves those who underwrote his or her campaign, or even a mayor who serves only himself and his friends.
Whether or not there is a runoff in the mayoral election, and no matter who wins it, on Oct. 1, there IS going to be a runoff for Public Advocate between Tish, who finished in first place, and the well-connected and much-better-funded second-place finisher, Daniel Squadron. Tish won a total of 36.1% to Squadron's 33.1%, but she would have needed at least 40% to win outright. Now she will have to win at least 50% of the vote by trying to attract some of the people who chose the candidates who have been eliminated, and boosting turnout in the areas where she performed best. All of this takes money, and she has very little, as you would expect from a candidate who has spent her time standing up for working people, the poor, and the disenfranchised. That's where the begging comes in.
As a resident of New York City, I have donated to many, many Democrats running in far away locations in response to appeals here on Daily Kos. I still get emails from all over the country. In the past two days alone, I've received fundraising appeals from candidates in WI, CA, AZ, NC, HI, NJ, IN, MN, and upstate NY. But with almost no other races on the horizon, and this one only three weeks away, I am going to turn to you, and ask that you Kossacks from other states, whose candidates have received so much support from us New Yorkers, now support one of ours.
Tish has put her limited campaign treasury to the most efficient possible use so far, and she has an impressive GOTV operation, but in order to win an absolute majority, we are going to need to spread the word much more broadly than we've been able to so far.
Please help us do that.
Our city and the cause of progressives everywhere will be better served if the mayor’s “second”, the Public Advocate, is Tish James. Tish has served in our City Council for the past decade. As a member of the Progressive Caucus there, she has compiled an outstanding record of service and legislative achievements for the ordinary citizens of her district and the rest of New York. She has strongly fought the moneyed interests of the real-estate and financial industries, whose power has only increased during the Bloomberg administration. And, in the words of a fellow Kossack,
Tish sticks to what she says and, on top of that, she's a nice person and cares about people.
That includes her pledge not to seek a third City Council term, though she could have played it safe and done so.
Here she displaying her legal expertise on the abuse of stop-and-frisk (notice how her opponent sets up a straw man rather than responding to what she actually said):
In action, at a Living Wage rally, she shows why she’s got the endorsement of thirteen local unions:
She was one of only four Council members to join in filing a lawsuit over the NY Police Department's treatment of Occupy Wall Street(audio is not great on this one, apologies):
(h/t to mole 333 for finding the videos!)
Please see my previous diary for much, much more about why I am supporting her so fervently, and why I wrecked my feet for her on Tuesday. She is the embodiment of the "better Democrat" that people are always calling for here, and with your help, she can serve the entire City of New York. Please donate now - I'm begging you!
And of course, if you live in New York City, please volunteer and vote for Tish!!!!
Rec List? Wow, thanks, everyone!