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.
Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor, said he hadn't seen it but he said if voters think city schools are better today than they were under Thompson's leadership at the Board of Education, they should vote for Bloomberg.
The record will show that the control of New York City Public Schools was firmly gripped by the New York City's Mayor's office.
Rudolph W. Giuliani made New Yorkers three promises when he campaigned for mayor in the early 1990s: He would fix troubled schools, cut crime and boost the economy.
New York City schools went through eight years of political chaos during Giuliani's terms, which ended in 2002. His bare-knuckle tactics contributed to the departure of three chancellors, according to interviews with former school administrators, Board of Education members, teachers, parents, union officials and outside experts.
This was the Rudy Giuliani Show. Chancellors made guest appearances and the Board of Education, students and parents were a captive audience.
As promised earlier today, we're liveblogging from the Working Families Party's Mayoral Forum, at the Hotel Trades Council Union Hall in midtown Manhattan. We'll be joined by two leading Democratic candidates, Bill Thompson and Tony Avella, and the incumbent Michael Bloomberg. If you have any questions, comments or thoughts for us, please let us know in the comments, and we'll try to reflect those interests in our coverage.
7:55 Thompson finishing up. They all handled themselves respectably. People are ready for dinner in back. Is it a standing O for Bill or for the food line?
Thanks to Charles, Levitan and crew for welcoming blogging and getting wi-fi back up.
And thank you, WFP, for planning this forum a 3-minute walk from Rudy's...it is Drinking Liberally night (and we're late!). Come on out to keep the conversation going. -jk
7:50 From Thompson's case for his electability: "This is not 2005. The economy was booming, people liked where they were. This is 2009, the economy is failing, people are scared and want change in City Hall." -jb
7:48 To the final question, from Dan Cantor, about convincing WFP Thompson could beat the Bloomberg behemoth, Thompson just had the first laugh-out-loud line of the night: "I'll quote someone who said, 'Rich guys don't always win.'"...which was Bloomberg's defense of spending $100 million on the campaign just 40 minutes ago.
A second reference to Obama too... -jk
7:47 Judging by this forum, one line that is going to be used against Bloomberg consistently is that hat his response to every economic question is "But we love the rich." Oh, and "Why is Michael Bloomberg willing to run on the Republican line if he doesn't believe in parties?" -jb
7:46 Uh-oh, Bill...people in the backroom are starting to eat. You're competing with food!
Good answer on the pride of running on party lines...and asking "Can anyone imagine Barack Obama on the Republican line?" got some laughs. -jk
7:44 By the way, we're not the only ones watching. Public Advocate candidate just made this his Facebook status update: "is not impressed that the Mayor said at the WFP forum that calling 311 is a solution for tenants facing eviction from their home. Wrong answer!" (He's a WFP endorsed candidate) -jk
Later today, the Working Families Party will be hosting a Mayoral Forum for the two leading Democratic candidates, Bill Thompson and Tony Avella, and the incumbent Michael Bloomberg.
