We defied the odds on election night -- and together, we sent a clear message that our elected leaders need to put New York City's working families first.
More people voted on the Working Families Party ballot line than in any New York City election in our party's history.
Working Families-endorsed candidates Bill de Blasio and John Liu were overwhelmingly elected to the City's second and third highest offices, where we know they will be strong voices for a more progressive New York.
And with the WFP's help, a new generation of grassroots community organizers joined the City Council -- including Jimmy Van Bramer, Jumaane Williams, Debi Rose, Ydanis Rodriguez, Steve Levin, Brad Lander, Danny Dromm, Fernando Cabrera, and more. We're also thrilled about what the future holds for inspiring candidates who ran strong races solely on the Working Families ballot line, such as Mark Winston-Griffith and Lynn Schulman.
And then there was the Mayor's race.
When the WFP sent out an e-mail message saying that the Thompson-Bloomberg contest would be "a stunningly tight election," political pundits scoffed. Yesterday we proved them wrong.
That's the question the Working Families Party asks when deciding which policies and candidates to support in NYC.
And that's why, on Tuesday, we're backing Bill Thompson for Mayor.
Our current mayor has his own ideas about how New York City should work, but it has become increasingly clear that many New Yorkers are left out of his vision.
After eight years under Mayor Bloomberg, we are concerned that homelessness in the City is actually on the rise, the achievement gap for black and Latino kids hasn't closed, and many development projects have become boondoggles that drain tax dollars and divide communities instead of creating new jobs and affordable homes.
If you're sick, stay home. That's not just commonsense, it's advice public health officials dealing with Swine Flu and other infectious diseases give everyday. But for half the people reading this column, staying home might not be an option.
A shocking new report released last Thursday by the Community Service Society and A Better Balance shows that nearly half of all working New Yorkers (as many as 1.85 million people) - have no paid sick leave on the job. At least 1.3 million New Yorkers have no paid time off whatsoever (no vacation, no personal days).
For them, every cold or flu means having to choose between losing out on the paycheck they need to get by, or putting their health at risk (not to mention the health of their co-workers).
What's worse, the numbers are trending in the wrong direction. According to the report, 69% of "near-poor" workers - those earning just above the federal poverty line - had paid sick days in 2004. Today, just 33% of near-poor workers report being able to take a paid day off work when they get sick.
Finding a job in this recession is tough enough. Sick in the City shows thatfinding one that offers decent benefits is a lot harder.
Yesterday, something amazing happened in New York City. John Liu rode a rainbow coalition to win the runoff for Comptroller and in November he'll become the first Asian-American ever elected to citywide office.
And Bill de Blasio, who just 6 months ago was an inspiring but little-known progressive hero, won the contest for Public Advocate against a much better known opponent.
These were hard fought victories. Bill and John spent months crisscrossing the city, talking to people in every borough and nearly every neighborhood about the issues that matter to middle- and working-class people. They each built broad coalitions: neighborhood leaders, union members, tenant activists, advocates for the homeless, and just good old-fashioned civic-minded citizens.
Turnout wasn't high. But those who did come to the polls cared deeply about the future of our city. New York has big challenges ahead. The affordable housing crisis. Rising unemployment. Every day, New Yorkers grapple with a city they love but fear they can no longer afford to call home.
There's a lot of work to do. But today, we have two new progressive leaders who will work to find solutions to the problems our city faces. I know I speak for thousands of Working Families Party members when I say that we are thrilled to have played a part in their victories. We look forward to working with them in the never-ending project to build a society based on democracy, equality and solidarity.
Thanks for all your hard work.
P.S. The press noticed too. The New York Times this morning said: "The Working Families Party, once derided as a rag-tag collection of Brooklyn progressives, is now the pre-eminent political force in New York City politics."
From an email authored by Dan Cantor, WFP Executive Director.
At a time when health care, Joe Wilson, Glenn Back and Van Jones are uppermost in so many people's minds, I'd like to do my best and draw some attention back to base level politics: local elections.
It's not easy to generate attention and excitement for the thousands of races for county legislator, town council, highway supervisor, and even mayor. Yet the men and women who aspire to these offices are the very heart and soul of the political class in the neighborhoods, wards and precincts where we live. Progressive change doesn't happen without change at the local level.
New to politics a year ago, I entered the fray with only a passing familiarity with the candidates various policy proposals. Despite my indifference and apathy at the time, Barack Obama's commitment to good government policies -- specifically campaign finance reform, government transparency and ethics reform -- drew me into the campaign, and eventually into Democratic politics for good.
Well, once again I'm rooting for the reformer-underdog. Still, despite the overwhelming weight of New York's establishment machine bearing down on Paul Newell campaign, I'm more convinced than ever that Obama-style bottom-up Change is precisely what NY state so desperately needs.
STATE BLOGS
Yesterday, something amazing happened in New York City. John Liu rode a rainbow coalition to win the runoff for Comptroller and in November he'll become the first Asian-American ever elected to citywide office.
Turnout wasn't high. But those who did come to the polls cared deeply about the future of our city. New York has big challenges ahead. The affordable housing crisis. Rising unemployment. Every day, New Yorkers grapple with a city they love but fear they can no longer afford to call home.
