Tomorrow, Tuesday Oct. 1st, is a very close runoff election which will have a very low voter turnout, so every single vote will count. So I am reaching out to people to try and get them out to vote (even if they don't for the candidate I advocate for below!).
The runoff is for NYC Public Advocate. This is a position that can be as strong as the person who is elected to the position. NYC has had three Public Advocates. Mark Green was a strong one. The next two largely did nothing with the position so people forget that it can be an important position that is designed to be a balance to the power of the mayor. The Public Advocate investigates citizen complaints against government agencies, can propose legislation in the City Council (though does not vote in the council), and appoints several members of various boards and commissions that run the city.
The runoff is between two people I know personally: Tish James and Dan Squadron. Both are smart and good people. But they are very different people. Below I compare and contrast the two candidates.
Tish James is a strong, African-American woman who has been a strong voice in the community for decades and was initially elected to the city council on the Working Families Party line. She is now a Democrat but was for some time the ONLY person in NY State who was elected on WFP who wasn't also on the Democratic line. She comes from a middle class background and has stood with Occupy Wall Street. She has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the National Organization of Women, Democracy for NYC, the League of Conservation Voters, as well as the Amsterdam News (one of the largest black newspapers in NYC) and El Diario/La Prensa (one of the largest Spanish Language newspapers in NYC). She is proudly liberal and is fearless in standing up for poor and middle class New Yorkers, and this has earned her the animosity of Wall Street.
Here
is Tish James speaking out at a Living Wage rally:
Here is Tish James on marriage equality (Note: a moment when she and her current opponent for Public Advocate stood strong together!):
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Tish James opposing Stop-and-Firsk (which soon to be mayor Bill de Blasio first supported then swung to oppose...and I hope he stays in opposition!):
Her opponent, Dan Squadron is a really nice guy, but he comes from a very corporate, Wall Street background and is basically a relatively conservative (for NYC!), pro-Bloomberg Democrat. He is for mayoral control of schools and receives a great deal of campaign money from developers and hedge fund executives. He is not bad, but he is not the person I see using the Public Advocate position for what it was meant to be: a balance to the mayor and a force to help average New Yorkers fight the city when needed.
I urge you to join NOW, Planned Parenthood, and the League of Conservations and vote for Tish James for Public Advocate tomorrow, October 1st. Your polling place will be the same place you voted in the primary just a few weeks ago. Please go to the polls and bring a few friends. It is really in elections like this runoff that your vote really counts.
You can read some of her endorsements, and get more info here:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
And here is fellow Kossak Sidnora's latest diary advocating for Tish James as well:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Tomorrow is my son's birthday...he already is ready to flyer for Tish because he knows how important it is and really wants her to win. Help us get her through the runoff!
Thanks!