Today my son and I spoke at a rally where the Sierra Club endorsed Comptroller John Liu for mayor of NYC. In my speech, I emphasize exactly why I think John Liu is PRECISELY the person we need for mayor right here and right now in NYC and for America. I know John Liu personally and have had many long talks with him. He comes from a mathematical and scientific background and he is able to analyze problems like a scientist and deal with those problems effectively. He is a progressive force who can and will put the environment first. THIS is why the Sierra Club has endorsed him. They made it clear that they put all the candidates through a difficult endorsement procedure and John Liu came out as being by far the best environmental candidate. He understood environmental issues better than ANY other candidate for mayor and he had real solutions that the Sierra Club felt were realistic, productive and helpful. No other candidate came close to meeting the Sierra Club's standards.
My son LOVES John Liu. My wife and I (we are both scientists) also are strong John Liu supporters. Just to be clear, my wife is a cutting edge climate scientist and she is an avid John Liu supporter because as a climate scientist she feels he is the ONLY candidate for mayor who understands climate change. John understands what needs to be done in the next century to deal with the environmental problems OUR generation has created and our children and grandchildren will have to deal with. THAT is why the Sierra Club endorsed him. And that is why my wife and I coming from our scientific backgrounds support him.
Below I have the video of the whole Sierra Club endorsement rally, a transcript of my personal speech, and a list of the MANY organizations that have endorsed John Liu for mayor.
Here is a (actually pretty piss poor) video of the Sierra Club endorsement. My speech is about 12 minutes in and is choppy.
Here is a transcript of my speech supporting John Liu for mayor:
Good afternoon. It is my pleasure today to stand with the Sierra Club and endorse Comptroller John Liu for mayor of NYC.
My family first met John while he was campaigning for Comptroller in our neighborhood in Brooklyn. We were impressed by his intelligence, his dynamic energy, and his ability to connect directly, face to face with people. We also were impressed that he was educated as a mathematical physicist before he entered a financial and political career. My wife and I are both scientists and we know that someone who is attracted to science is a natural problem solver because the scientific method is at its root a tried and true, systematic method for solving difficult problems. John Liu seemed the ideal Comptroller since he could turn his problem solving skills to the city’s complex finances. So my wife and I eagerly supported John for Comptroller and were thrilled when he won. And his performance as Comptroller proved us right: he has been an excellent problem solver for the city’s finances. He has weeded out large-scale corruption in our city that the previous Comptrollers and Mayor Bloomberg completely ignored. In the process he saved our city billions of dollars. THIS is what you get when you have an intelligent, energetic problem solver in charge. And this is what our city needs as mayor.
But the stakes are even higher with mayor than with Comptroller. This is the 21st century and our city faces unprecedented environmental problems, most importantly global warming. Because these problems are unprecedented, it will take novel and creative solutions from our political leaders for us to cope. Looking around American politics today I see very few political leaders who are coming up with novel and creative solutions. In fact in America today most political leaders seem unable to come up with any kind of solutions at all other than how to win the next election. We need leaders like John Liu.
I have been following global warming in the scientific literature for some 25 years now. Back then it was a scientific hypothesis predicting what MIGHT happen if we stick with business as usual. What strikes me is that every single prediction made by scientists 20-25 years ago is coming true right here, right now and impacting our lives today. Our political leaders did not listen to the scientists, they stuck with business as usual and our children will inherit the consequences of OUR mistakes.
This is my son, Jacob, who, by the way, I think is John Liu’s biggest fan. I look at Jacob every day and think about how our mistakes will impact his life. Global warming will be the biggest threat my son faces. Looking at my son, global warming is no longer a scientific hypothesis that is being proven true. It is now personal.
John Liu has the intelligence, the scientific background, and the energy to solve problems. With global warming impacting us RIGHT NOW, we need a leader who will face up to and solve problems. This city needs John Liu for mayor. MY SON needs John Liu for mayor. Because without him all I see is business as usual that leaves our children and grandchildren to face the consequences of the mess we made. Thank you.
John Liu has been endorsed by the following organizations:
The New York City Sierra Club
The National Organization for Women (NOW) Brooklyn-Queens Chapter
National Latino Officers Association
Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens (LGDCQ)
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Staten Island Democratic Association (SIDA)
Muslim Democratic Club of New York
Alliance of South Asian American Labor (ASAAL)
Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID)
Village Independent Democrats
United Progressive Democratic Club
Correction Officers Benevolent Association (COBA)
Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (LEEBA)
Korean Americans for Political Advancement
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME NY)
District Council 1707
Allied Printing Trades Council (NYSAPTC)
Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Local 1000
Plumbers UA Local 1
Civil Service Bar Association (CSBA)
Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Association (OPCMIA)
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 5
International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Workers Local 12
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3
District Council 37
The New York Metropolitan Area Joint Board of Workers United/SEIU
Communications Workers of America Local 1180
The Organization of Staff Analysts (OSA)
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO New York Chapter
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1056
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 14-14B
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 15
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 30
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 94
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 211
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 891
New Visions Democratic Club
Coalition for a District Alternative (CoDA)
The Democratic Organization of Richmond County
Three Parks Independent Democrats
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Downtown Independent Democrats (D.I.D.)
Broadway Democrats
South Shore Democratic Club
Gramercy Stuyvesant Independent Democrats
United Democratic Organization
Lower East Side Democratic Club