Citizen Action of New York City has endorsed two candidates in tomorrow’s run-off election. Low voter turnout is expected, so if you live in the city, please get out to vote for these candidates. If you don’t live in the city, please remind your friends who do.
Bill deBlasio for Public Advocate
Our enthusiastic endorsement for Bill deBlasio is based on the facts:
- He stood up for us and challenged the Mayor’s efforts to extend term limits,
- He called for reform of some of the most arcane voting rituals that keep good candidates off the ballot,
- He has articulated a thoughtful and responsible vision for this office, and
- He wants to work with us… not work at us.
The Citizen Action of New York City Board has been impressed by City Council Member Bill de Blasio’s effectiveness and consistent support for issues important to Citizen Action and our allies. He has stood up to the Bloomberg administration, and found ways to move programs forward. Critically, he was one of the leaders in the efforts to prevent Mayor Bloomberg from scrapping term-limits so he could run for a third term. While our Board is split on the issue of term limits itself, we were united in our opposition to the Mayor’s efforts to overturn the results of two city-wide referendums for his own benefit. As Chair of City Council’s General Welfare Committee, Bill exercised leadership on issues such has child health, housing and homelessness, and quality education.
Bill has a strong appreciation of the potential strengths of the office and understands how to use the Public Advocate’s power to review the performance of all City agencies and to introduce legislation. The Public Advocate’s seats on the City’s largest pension board, the Independent Budget Office Advisory Board and the City Planning Commission make the office a force to be reckoned with. Further, we believe he has the strength to restructure and revitalize the office and make it a truly effective advocate for the citizens of New York City.
Read more at www.billdeblasio.com.
John Liu for Comptroller
John Liu has an impressive resume and compelling life experience, which makes him our candidate for these troubling times. He has articulated a vision for the Comptroller’s office where he will:
- Ban financial contributions from service providers to the pension fund and anyone doing business with the Comptroller’s office, including lobbyists,
- Conduct an audit of every city agency within the first six months of his administration to root out waste and abuse,
- Establish transparency and accountability controls for the Office of Comptroller, and
- Review all the development deals that the City negotiated that have identified and promised to yield affordable housing.
Council Member John Liu represents Flushing, Queens on the City Council and was the first Asian-American elected to the City Council. He is particularly clear about his vision for the Comptroller’s role in oversight, transparency and fiscal responsibility. His first-hand knowledge of the immigrant experience (the Liu family left Taiwan for New York when he was five) is a plus.
We believe that by electing John Liu as NYC Comptroller, we will not only have the person with the best financial experience but also a New Yorker who has stood up for homecare workers in their fight for a living wage and health care benefits, fought closure of many community fire houses, and has shown a strong commitment to quality public school education. The decisions that our next Comptroller will make will directly affect the quality of life in neighborhoods throughout our City.
Read more at www.liunewyork.com.
