Voting is one of the most personal decisions an individual can make, and every individuals decision deserves our utmost respect. However, several of you who are not, by nature, political people have asked me for advice in casting ballots in tomorrows election, and others who delve into politics have asked me to explain why I, a registered Democrat, am voting statewide on the Working Families Party line (row D), including for a governor I not infrequently distrust or despise. Heres the answer, in short form: I believe a vote for the Working Families Party is the best vote for the people of New York State, a state that ongoing but correctable policies have made the #1 state in the nation for income inequality. Heres my reasoning: A. A Bit of History (not essential for politicos): On May 31st, at the Working Families Party convention, its delegates narrowly voted to endorse Governor Cuomo over the brilliant and important reform candidate, Zephyr Teachout. That decision, however disturbing to many in and outside the party, was spurred by the intervention of several unions and New York Citys mayor, Bill De Blasio, reportedly on bended knee, who recognized that his ability to effect many substantial changes for the people of the City of New York rested on attaining a Democratic majority in the NYS Senate. The deal included an agreement by the governor to endorse, support, and fund Democratic senate candidates, with the aim of achieving a true Democratic majority, and to commit to an essential group of progressive initiatives, including a locally indexed raise in the state minimum wage; campaign finance reform and publicly financed elections; passage of the full Womens Equality Act (including the tenth choice plank that the Republican-led majority opposes); passage of the NY DREAM Act; marijuana decriminalization; and more. The deal was neither cynical nor corrupt, but rather strategic and broad in impact. In general, the governor hasnt kept his part of the bargain--he has contributed almost no campaign funds and only limited support to the Democratic candidates he agreed to help. But the WFP and the mayor have been honorable and relentless in adhering to to the agreement, organizing and campaigning tirelessly on behalf of progressive Democratic candidates. And the terms of the agreement--the most progressive and affirmative package of legislation in years--remain on the table. In politics, it seems, no good deed goes unpunished. In a self-serving move, Governor Cuomo has apparently decided to exercise his anger and retaliatory passion at the WFP by inventing a new, otherwise useless, and truly cynical party, the Womens Equality Party (WEP), to elect himself, his running mate, and a few worthy Democratic candidates. Its purpose is clear: to reduce and even annihilate the effectiveness of the WFP in New York State, where the party must receive 50,000 votes on the gubernatorial line in the 2014 election to maintain its status on ballot line D. The governor clearly hopes that the WEP will garner the votes of and eviscerate the WFP: the 12-and-counting mailers my voting-age daughter and I have received urging us to vote for women on the WEP line all display a simulated ballot that blocks out the Working Families Party line. This isnt subtle. We shouldnt allow it to happen. The WFP is too essential, its agenda too important for it to lose its status as a vital progressive organizing platform. The governor will win anyway. Its the future of the Working Families Party and its ability not only to hold the governor accountable but, more importantly, to grow and advance a progressive future that is at stake in tomorrows election. B. My Vote: Im a community organizer, and what I do is, in the long-term, aimed at reducing the glaring inequalities of our state and nation and advancing important legislation and policies that benefit us all. In the short term, I try to advance specific initiatives such as raising the minimum wage, securing broader health care enrollment under the ACA, and advancing the kind of public election financing system and processes we have in New York City for New York State. In virtually everything I do, the WFP is the essential and invaluable platform and context, through its party structure and many affiliated organizations, including Citizen Action, the Strong Economy for All Coalition, Alliance for Quality Education (AQE), unions, and community-based organizations. The WFP is always there, when and as I need it. When I go up to Albany to work for Fair Elections, they facilitate the buses, the fellow organizers, the meetings with elected representatives. When I go to scream on the Million Dollar Staircase and chant outside the Senate to #RaisetheWage, its with the WFP and its many fellow groups. And when Im up at 6 am in Times Square with the FastFood workers aiming for $15 an hour and the right to unionize--which workers have atained in other cities--the WFP is there organizing, helping, encouraging, its lawyers managing the necessary civil disobedience. Its safe to say that hugely important initiatives such as the citys paid sick leave legislation and the states moderate extension of a so-called millionaires tax would not have happened without the WFPs efforts, and that the WFP, as Council Member Brad Lander recently wrote, has been essential to the election of the members of our City Councils Progressive Caucus Alliance--and to the most diverse and representative City Council in history--and to progressive changes at City Hall. The WFP is simply invaluable--to me, to others, to #allofus. Thats my vote. Many of our city and states most progressive Democrats, including Congressman Jerry Nadler, NYC Public Advocate Tish James, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and State Senators Brad Hoylman and Daniel Squadron, among others, have urged voters to join them tomorrow in voting for the governor, AG Schneiderman, Comptroller DiNapoli, and the rest of the Democratic ticket on the Working Families Party ballot line. I hope youll consider this as a vote to continue the hard work on issues we care deeply about. Your vote is your personal decision, and I respect the decision you make. I hope youll respect mine, consider it, and look to a progressive future. action.workingfamilies.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=10501&fnsource=KA-GNYC4C
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 17:48:31 +0000
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