Working Families Party 2007 Endorsements

Here's a roundup of the current Working Families Party Endorsements for the 2007 elections. More endorsements are coming, be sure to check back.

• Capital District
  
• Central New York
  
• Fingerlakes
  
• Herkimer-Oneida
  
• Mid-Hudson Valley
  
• Nassau
  
• North Country
  
• Rockland County
  
• Southern Tier
  
• Staten Island
• Suffolk
  
• Westchester-Putnam
  
• Western New York
  

WFP Staten Island Club 2007 Endorsements

The Working Families Party Staten Island Club has endorsed Michael J. Ryan in his race for County of Richmond District Attorney. To get involved in this race, contact Theo Moore at 718-222-3796.

WFP Western New York Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Western New York Chapter. The Western New York Chapter represents the counties of Cattaraugas, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara. To get involved in these races, contact Louisa Pacheco at 716-697-7616.

• City of Buffalo Comptroller
  Andrew A. SanFilippo


• City of Buffalo Council Member Delaware District
  Michael John LoCurto


• City of Buffalo Council Member Ellicott District
  Bryon J. McIntyre


• City of Buffalo Council Member Niagara District
  David A. Rivera


• City of Dunkirk Council Member
  Bob T. George


• City of Elmira Council Member District 6
  James E. Hare


• City of Elmira Mayor
  John Tonello


• City of Jamestown Council Member At Large
  Gregory Peter Rabb


• City of Jamestown Council Member Ward 1
  Stephen F. Szwejbka


• City of Jamestown Council Member Ward 3
  Michael Alexander Taylor


• City of Jamestown Council Member Ward 4
  Vincent DeJoy III


• City of Jamestown Council Member Ward 5
  Maria B. Jones


• City of Jamestown Council Member Ward 6
  Paul D. Whitford


• City of Jamestown Mayor
  Samuel Teresi


• City of Lackawanna City Court Judge (Ten Year Term)
  Frederic Marrano


• City of Lackawanna Council President
  Charles Jaworski


• City of Lackawanna Councilman 4th Ward
  Joseph J. Schiavi


• City of Lackawanna Mayor
  Norman L. Polanski Jr.


• City of Lockport Alderperson Ward 3
  Flora M. McKenzie


• City of Lockport Alderperson Ward 4
  Patrick W. Schrader Sr.


• City of Lockport Alderperson Ward 5
  John Lombardi III


• City of Lockport Mayor
  Michael William Tucker


• City of Lockport Treasurer
  Michael E. White


• City of Niagara Falls City Court Judge
  Robert Merino


• City of Niagara Falls Council Member
  Nicholas Ligammari Jr.


• City of Niagara Falls Mayor
  Paul A. Dyster


• City of North Tonawanda Alderperson
  David J. Burgio Sr.


• City of North Tonawanda Alderperson District 9
  Anthony J. DiBernardo


• City of North Tonawanda Council Member District 10
  Kevin John Brick Jr.


• City of Tonawanda City Attorney
  Ronald C. Trabucco


• City of Tonawanda City Treasurer
  Joseph M. Hogenkamp


• City of Tonawanda Councilmember 1st Ward
  Colleen R. Perkins


• City of Tonawanda Councilmember 2nd Ward
  Gary C. Waterhouse


• City of Tonawanda Councilmember 3rd Ward
  James P. Kossow


• City of Tonawanda Councilmember 4th Ward
  Rick D. Davis Jr.


• City of Tonawanda President of the Common Council
  Carleton R. Zeisz


• County of Cattaraugus County Legislator District 10
  Linda L. Witte, John J. Padlo


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 1
  Keith David Ahlstrom


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 10
  Wally J. Huckno Sr.


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 11
  Victoria Renee James


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 12
  Charles Franklin Cornell


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 13
  Tina Marie Hallquist


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 15
  Maria M. Kindberg


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 16
  James J. Ventura


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 18
  Rudy Mueller


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 20
  Elizabeth Marie Starks


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 21
  C. Ronald Vahl


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 23
  Thomas Dejoe


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 24
  David F. Kleparek


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 25
  Stephen W. Keefe


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 4
  David Thomas Wilder


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 6
  Rebecca White


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 8
  Robert L. Anderson


• County of Chautauqua County Legislator District 9
  Kenneth B. Brentley


• County of Erie County Clerk (To Fill Vacancy)
  Kathy Courtney Hochul


• County of Erie County Court Judge
  James McLeod


• County of Erie County Executive
  James P. Keane


• County of Erie County Legislator 10th District
  Michele M. Iannello


• County of Erie County Legislator 11th District
  Lynn M. Marinelli


• County of Erie County Legislator 12th District
  Robert B. Reynolds Jr.


• County of Erie County Legislator 13th District
  Suzann M. Cushman


• County of Erie County Legislator 14th District
  Thomas A. Loughran


• County of Erie County Legislator 15th District
  Michael James Robitaille


• County of Erie County Legislator 1st District
  Daniel M. Kozub


• County of Erie County Legislator 2nd District
  Timothy M. Kennedy


• County of Erie County Legislator 3rd District
  Barbara Miller-Williams


• County of Erie County Legislator 6th District
  Maria R. Whyte


• County of Erie County Legislator 7th District
  Betty Jean Grant


• County of Erie County Legislator 8th District
  Deborah S. Kubiak


• County of Erie County Legislator 9th District
  Timothy M. Wroblewski


• County of Niagara Clerk
  Wayne F. Jagow Jr.


• County of Niagara Coroner
  James M. Joyce


• County of Niagara Coroner Fourth District
  Robert DuBois Jr.


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 1
  Richard A. Marasco


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 10
  Joseph Andrew Rich


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 11
  Scott Andrew Schultz


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 12
  Jerry Mosey


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 14
  Kyle R Andrews


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 15
  Harry James Apolito


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 16
  William Keith McNall


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 18
  Merrill S. Bender


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 2
  Renae Kimble


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 3
  Mario P. Tonellato


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 4
  Dennis Virtuoso


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 5
  Sean J. O'Connor


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 6
  Robert Samuel LaBarbera


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 7
  Roger Louis Chenez


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 8
  Charles Joseph Naughton


• County of Niagara County Legislator District 9
  Edward T. McDonald


• County of Niagara Family Court Judge
  Linda M. DiPasquale


• Town of Alabama Highway Superintendent
  Robert Kehlenbeck


• Town of Albion Supervisor
  Judith Ann Koehler


• Town of Amherst Councilman
  Mark A. Manna, Jerome D. Schad, Bill Kindel


• Town of Amherst Highway Superintendent
  Robert Anderson


• Town of Amherst Town Justice
  Geoffrey K. Klein


• Town of Aurora Councilman
  Gregory Szematowicz


• Town of Aurora Supervisor
  Allan A. Kasprzak


• Town of Boston Councilman
  James E. Pluta, Cathy A. Maghran


• Town of Boston Town Clerk
  David J. Shenk


• Town of Brant Councilman
  Daniel B. Kujawinski


• Town of Brant Town Clerk
  Diane M. Czyz


• Town of Brant Town Justice
  Debra A. Ritz


• Town of Chautauqua Council Member
  James V. Kurtz


• Town of Chautauqua Supervisor
  Donald D. Emhardt


• Town of Cheektowaga Councilman
  Richard James Maisano


• Town of Cheektowaga Town Justice
  Thomas S. Kolbert


• Town of Clarence Councilman
  Timothy B. Pazda


• Town of Clarence Supervisor
  Scott A. Bylewski


• Town of Concord Councilman
  Raymond R. Hubert, Mark I. Adamchick


• Town of Eden Assesor
  Sharon A. Brockman


• Town of Eden Councilman
  Glenn McLaughin


• Town of Eden Town Justice
  Melissa L. Zittel


• Town of Ellery Supervisor
  Patrick l. Lucariello


• Town of Elma Councilman
  Michael J. Fanelli, John E. Dudek


• Town of Elma Supervisor
  Donald E. Przybyl


• Town of Elma Town Justice
  Joseph A. Sakowski


• Town of Evans Councilman
  Thomas A. Partridge, Charles P. Militello


• Town of Evans Supervisor
  Francis J. Pordum


• Town of Grand Island Clerk
  Patricia A. Frentzel


• Town of Hamburg Councilman
  Vincent R. Gugliuzza, Richard A. Smith


• Town of Hamburg Town Clerk
  Catherine A. Rybczynski


• Town of Hanover Clerk
  Janine L. Salzman


• Town of Hanover Council Member
  Kevin K. O'Connell


• Town of Hanover Highway Superintendent
  Gerald M. Olsen Jr.


• Town of Hanover Supervisor
  Dana Albert Tietz


• Town of Lancaster Councilman
  Donna G. Stempniak


• Town of Lancaster Town Clerk
  Johanna M. Coleman


• Town of Lancaster Town Justice
  Mark A. Montour


• Town of Lewiston Board Member
  Mark V. Sarro


• Town of Lewiston Council Member
  Michael A. Johnson


• Town of Lewiston Supervisor
  Ronald Robert Winkley


• Town of Lockport Council Member
  Paul W. Siejak


• Town of Newfane Board Member
  Michelle Joy Wheeler


• Town of Newstead Councilman
  Justin M. Rooney, Cheryl M. Esposito


• Town of Newstead Supervisor
  David L. Cummings


• Town of Newstead Town Justice
  Richard C. Baran


• Town of Niagara Council Member
  Robert E. Herman Sr., Robert Allen Clark


• Town of North Collins Town Clerk
  Margaret J. Orrange


• Town of Orchard Park Councilman
  Deborah L. Yeomans, Anne Marie C. McManus


• Town of Poland Highway Superintendent
  Larry Ralph Mee


• Town of Pomfret Council Member
  Michael C. Barris


• Town of Royalton Board Member
  James G. Budde


• Town of Royalton Highway Superintendent
  Carson James Kelley


• Town of Sardinia Councilman
  Darren J. Farthing


• Town of Somerset Assesor
  John Henry Keough


• Town of Somerset Council Member
  Richard N. Ray Jr., Randall J Wayner


• Town of Somerset Receiver of Taxes
  Ruth H. Wendler


• Town of Somerset Supervisor
  John Edward Sweeney Jr.


• Town of Tonawanda Councilman
  Daniel J. Crangle


• Town of Tonawanda Supervisor
  Anthony F. Caruana


• Town of Tonawanda Town Clerk
  Melissa M. Brinson


• Town of Tonawanda Town Justice
  John J. Flynn, J. Mark Gruber


• Town of West Seneca Councilman
  Sheila M. Meegan, Dale F. Clarke


• Town of West Seneca Supervisor
  Christina Wleklinski-Bove


• Town of Wheatfield Clerk
  Mary Catherine Joyce


• Town of Wheatfield Council Member
  Samuel Conti Jr.


• Village of Kenmore Mayor
  Patrick Mang


• Village of Kenmore Trustee
  R. Timothy McCarthy

WFP Westchester-Putnam Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Westchester-Putnam Chapter. To get involved in these races, contact Pat Welsh at 718-222-3796.

• City of New Rochelle Council Member District 1
  Susan I. Kettner


• City of New Rochelle Council Member District 2
  Albert A. Tarantino Jr.


• City of New Rochelle Council Member District 3
  James Count Stowe


• City of New Rochelle Council Member District 4
  Roberto Lopez


• City of New Rochelle Council Member District 6
  Marianne L. Sussman


• City of New Rochelle Mayor
  Noam Bramson


• City of Peekskill Council Member
  Patricia Riley, Joseph V. Schuder, Donald Francis Bennett Jr.


• City of Peekskill Mayor
  Mary F. Foster


• City of White Plains Council Member
  Dennis J. Power, Benjamin Boykin 2ND, Milagros Lecuona


• City of Yonkers City Court Judge
  Mary Anne Scattaretico-Naber


• City of Yonkers Council Member District 1
  Patricia D. McDow


• City of Yonkers Council Member District 5
  Jodi Mosiello


• City of Yonkers Mayor
  Dennis Michael Robertson


• County of Putnam County Legislator District 5
  Gerard V. Furey


• County of Westchester County Court Judge
  James Hubert, Barbara Zambelli


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 10
  Vito J. Pinto


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 12
  Thomas J. Abinanti


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 14
  Bernice Spreckman


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 16
  Ken Jenkins


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 17
  Jose I. Alvarado


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 2
  Peter B. Harckham


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 3
  John Nonna


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 4
  Michael B. Kaplowitz


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 5
  William J. Ryan


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 6
  Martin L. Rogowsky


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 7
  Judy Myers


• County of Westchester County Legislator District 9
  William E. Burton


• County of Westchester Family Court Judge
  Janet Jordan


• Town of Cortlandt Council Member
  Richard H. Becker


• Town of Cortlandt Town Justice
  Anthony M. Giordano


• Town of Greenburgh Council Member
  Steven Bass, Sonja M. Brown


• Town of Greenburgh Supervisor
  Suzanne Berger


• Town of Greenburgh Town Justice
  Doris T. Friedman


• Town of Kent Council Member District 4
  Joseph Andrew D'Ambrosio


• Town of Kent Council Member District 6
  Paul Spiegel


• Town of Lewisboro Council Member
  Daniel Xavier Welsh


• Town of Lewisboro Councilman District 6
  Bruce Pavalow


• Town of Lewisboro Supervisor
  Edward W. Brancati


• Town of North Castle Councilman
  Kevin C. Eccleston


• Town of Ossining Council Member
  Martha L. Dodge


• Town of Ossining Town Justice
  Edwin S. Shapiro


• Town of Patterson Board Member
  Patricia E. Ploeger


• Town of Patterson Town Justice
  Scott Auster


• Town of Putnam Valley Supervisor
  Wendy M. Whetsel


• Town of Rye Council Member
  Michael J. Borrelli, Dominick Lagana


• Town of Rye Highway Superintendent
  Vincent A. Sapione


• Town of Rye Receiver of Taxes
  Nicholas C. Mecca


• Town of Rye Supervisor
  Robert A. Morabito II


• Town of Rye Town Justice
  Anthony M. Provenzano


• Town of Southeast Highway Superintendent At Large
  Michael L Fila Sr.


• Town of Yorktown Council Member
  Nicholas J. Bianco, James J. Martorano


• Town of Yorktown Supervisor
  Donald Scott Peters


• Town of Yorktown Town Justice
  Ilan D. Gilbert


• Town/Village of Harrison Clerk
  Frank A. Acocella


• Town/Village of Harrison Council Member/Trustee
  Robert C. Paladino, Patrick A. Vetere


• Town/Village of Harrison Mayor/Supervisor
  Joan B. Walsh


• Town/Village of Harrison Town Justice
  Ronald Bianchi, Marc Lust

WFP Suffolk Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Suffolk Chapter. To get involved in these races, contact Joe Berry at 718-222-3796.

• County of Suffolk County Executive
  Steve Levy


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 11th Legislative District
  Thomas Francis Barraga


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 12th Legislative District
  John Michael Kennedy Jr.


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 14th Legislative District
  Wayne R. Horsley


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 15th Legislative District
  Elie Mystal


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 16th Legislative District
  Steven H. Stern


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 17th Legislative District
  Louis D'Amaro


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 18th Legislative District
  Jon Cooper


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 1st Legislative District
  No Endorsement aaendli
  
• County of Suffolk County Legislator 2nd Legislative District
  Jay H. Schneiderman


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 3rd Legislative District
  Kate M. Browning


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 4th Legislative District
  Brian J. Beedenbender


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 5th Legislative District
  Vivian M. Viloria-Fisher


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 6th Legislative District
  Bryan Lilly


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 7th Legislative District
  No Endorsement aaendli
  
• County of Suffolk County Legislator 8th Legislative District
  William Lindsay


• County of Suffolk County Legislator 9th Legislative District
  Ricardo Montano


• County of Suffolk District Court Judge 2nd District
  No Endorsement aaendli
  
• County of Suffolk District Court Judge 6th District
  William A. DeVore, Chris Ann Kelley


• County of Suffolk Family Court Judge
  Theresa Whelan


• Town of Babylon Councilman
  Jacqueline A. Gordon, Ellen T. McVeety


• Town of Brookhaven Council Member District 1
  No Endorsement aaendli
  
• Town of Brookhaven Council Member District 2
  Bill Shilling


• Town of Brookhaven Council Member District 3
  Kevin L. Hyms


• Town of Brookhaven Council Member District 4
  Constance M. Kepert


• Town of Brookhaven Council Member District 5
  Jack N. Fath


• Town of Brookhaven Council Member District 6
  Edward J. Hennessey


• Town of Brookhaven Highway Superintendent
  John H. Rouse


• Town of Brookhaven Receiver of Taxes
  Louis J. Marcoccia


• Town of Brookhaven Supervisor
  Brian X. Foley


• Town of East Hampton Councilman
  Bill Gardiner


• Town of East Hampton Supervisor
  William J. Wilkinson


• Town of East Hampton Councilman
  Peter J. Hammerle


• Town of East Hampton Supervisor
  William J. Wilkinson


• Town of East Hampton Town Justice
  Steven Tekulsky


• Town of Huntington Councilman
  Susan A. Berland, Glenda D. Adams-Jackson


• Town of Islip Councilman
  John H. Edwards, Gene Parrington


• Town of Islip Receiver of Taxes
  Deborah L. Slinkosky


• Town of Islip Supervisor
  Phil Nolan


• Town of Riverhead Assesor
  Robert B. Gottschalk Jr.


• Town of Riverhead Councilman
  George M. Bartunek, Amy L. Csorny


• Town of Riverhead Highway Superintendent
  George 'Gio' Woodson


• Town of Riverhead Receiver of Taxes
  Michael K Roth


• Town of Riverhead Supervisor
  Philip J. Cardinale


• Town of Riverhead Town Justice
  Robert Lowery


• Town of Shelter Island Assesor
  Albert F. Hammond


• Town of Shelter Island Councilman
  Karen K. Moran, Glenn W. Waddington


• Town of Shelter Island Supervisor
  James Dougherty


• Town of Smithtown Councilman
  Thomas P. Cleere, Bruce Jay Ettenberg


• Town of Southampton Councilman
  Sandra L. Dunn, Anna E. Throne-Holst


• Town of Southampton Receiver of Taxes
  Bruce A. King


• Town of Southampton Supervisor
  James S. Henry


• Town of Southampton Town Justice
  Andrea H. Schiavoni


• Town of Southold Councilman
  William P. Edwards, Daniel C. Ross


• Town of Southold Supervisor
  No Endorsement aaendli
  
• Town of Southold Trustee
  Bob Ghosio Jr.

WFP Southern Tier Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Southern Tier Chapter. To get involved in these races, contact Eileen Hamlin at 607-775-1758.

• City of Binghamton Council Member District 1
  Bob Weslar


• City of Binghamton Council Member District 2
  Martin J. Gerchman


• City of Binghamton Council Member District 6
  Charles E. Kramer


• City of Binghamton Council Member District 8
  Edward Collins


• City of Oneonta Alderperson District 4
  Mike E. Lynch


• County of Broome County Court Judge
  Joseph Cawley


• County of Otsego County Legislator District 7
  Philip Anthony Durkin


• Town of Cherry Valley Council Member
  Mark D. Cornwell


• Town of Vestal Supervisor
  Barry L. Klipsch


• Village of Endicott Trustee
  Frank J. Flint


• Village of Endicott Village Justice
  Theo Totolis

WFP Rockland County Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Rockland County Chapter. To get involved in these races, contact Tom Stoner at 504-220-3766.

• County of Rockland County Legislator District 1
  John L. Kezek


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 10
  Harriet D. Cornell


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 11
  John J. Mangan Jr.


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 12
  Withers Joseph Withers


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 14
  Vijayendranath P. Pradhan


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 17
  Connie L. Coker II


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 3
  Jay Hood Jr.


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 4
  Ilan S. Schoenberger


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 5
  John Christos Fellas


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 6
  Bruce M. Levine


• County of Rockland County Legislator District 8
  William L. Darden


• County of Rockland District Attorney
  Thomas Patrick Zugibe


• County of Rockland Sheriff
  Tim O'Neill


• Town of Clarkstown Clerk
  David S. Carlucci


• Town of Clarkstown Council Member
  Shirley Lasker, Frank Borelli


• Town of Clarkstown Highway Superintendent
  Bill McCue


• Town of Clarkstown Justice
  Joel Flick


• Town of Clarkstown Supervisor
  Alexander J. Gromack


• Town of Clarkstown Town Justice
  Howard Gerber


• Town of Haverstraw Highway Superintendent
  Frank H. Brooks


• Town of Haverstraw Supervisor
  Howard T. Phillips Jr.


• Town of Haverstraw Town Justice
  Thomas Walsh II, Peter Branti Jr.


• Town of Orangetown Council Member
  Michael Maturo


• Town of Orangetown Judge
  Paul Phinney III


• Town of Orangetown Supervisor
  Thom Kleiner


• Town of Ramapo Council Member
  Frances M. Hunter, Edward Friedman


• Town of Stony Point Clerk
  Joan Skinner


• Village of Haverstraw Mayor
  Michael F. Kohut


• Village of Haverstraw Trustee
  Thomas L. Watson Jr., Rafael Bueno


• Village of Haverstraw Village Justice
  Ronald De Caprio


• Village of West Haverstraw Mayor
  Edward P. Zugibe Sr.


• Village of West Haverstraw Trustee
  Joseph A. Denise Jr., Frances R. Nardi


• Village of West Haverstraw Village Justice
  John Grant

WFP North Country Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party North Country Chapter. The North Country Chapter represents the counties of Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, Essex and Hamilton. To get involved in these races, contact Alex Rabb at 718-222-3796.

• City of Plattsburgh Council Member Ward 1
  Timothy R. Carpenter


• City of Plattsburgh Council Member Ward 2
  Mike Kelly


• City of Plattsburgh Council Member Ward 6
  Chris Jackson


• County of Clinton County Legislator District 5
  Keith Marvin Defayette


• County of Clinton County Legislator District 9
  John William Gallagher


• County of Clinton Treasurer
  Kimberly Kleist


• County of Jefferson County Legislator District 11
  Doris C. McLallen


• County of Jefferson County Legislator District 3
  Dean T. Morrow


• County of Jefferson County Legislator District 5
  Cindy McNultry Ross


• County of St. Lawrence Sheriff
  Gus Burns


• Town of Beekmantown Council Member
  Sharron Garden


• Town of Beekmantown Highway Superintendent
  Samuel R. Dyer


• Town of Chazy Council Member
  Christopher W Latremore


• Town of Macomb Town Justice
  Lafayette Young Jr.


• Town of Madrid Board Member
  Bill Tyndall


• Town of Massena Council Member
  John Martin Wicke


• Town of Morristown Board Member
  Christopher B. T. Coffin


• Town of Plattsburgh Clerk
  Amy Lynn Duquette


• Town of Plattsburgh Council Member
  Tom Wood


• Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor
  Bernard Charles Bassett


• Town of Plattsburgh Town Justice
  Randa Buompensiero-Filion


• Town of Rutland Supervisor
  Ronald H. Cole


• Town of Saranac Supervisor
  Joe Gerardi

WFP Nassau District Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Nassau Chapter. To get involved in these races, contact Saba Debesu at 718-222-3796.

• City of Long Beach Council Member
  Robert Tepper, Gina T. Guma, Lawrence Benowitz


• County of Nassau County Court Judge
  John M. Galasso, Jerald S. Carter


• County of Nassau County Court Judge
  Norman St. George


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 1
  Kevan Abrahams


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 10
  Judi R. Bosworth


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 11
  Wayne H. Wink Jr.


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 13
  John Rossi


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 14
  David L. Mejias


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 15
  John Michael Clark


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 16
  Judith A. Jacobs


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 17
  Edward P. Mangano


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 18
  Diane Yatauro


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 19
  David W. Denenberg


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 2
  Roger H. Corbin


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 3
  Ali A. Mirza


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 4
  Denise Ford


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 5
  Joseph Kenneth Scannell


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 7
  Jeffrey W. Toback


• County of Nassau County Legislator District 8
  Michael Uhl


• County of Nassau District Court Judge 2nd District (Hempstead)
  Robert Spergel


• County of Nassau District Court Judge 3rd District (North Hempstead)
  Erica Prager, David Goodsell


• County of Nassau Family Court Judge
  Edmund Dane, Amy Rood


• Town of Hempstead Clerk
  Mark A. Bonilla


• Town of Hempstead Council Member District 2
  N. Scott Banks


• Town of Hempstead Council Member District 5
  Robert S. Young


• Town of Hempstead Receiver of Taxes
  Donald X. Clavin Jr.


• Town of North Hempstead Clerk
  Leslie C. Gross


• Town of North Hempstead Council Member District 2
  Thomas Kennedy Dwyer


• Town of North Hempstead Council Member District 4
  Maria-Christina Poons


• Town of North Hempstead Council Member District 6
  Fred L. Pollack


• Town of North Hempstead Receiver of Taxes
  Rocco Iannarelli


• Town of North Hempstead Supervisor
  Jon Kaiman


• Town of Oyster Bay Council Member
  Anthony David Macagnone


• Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor
  John Venditto


• Town of Oyster Bay Council Member
  Keith Scalia


• Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes
  Marie F. McCormack

WFP Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter. The Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter represents the counties of Ulster, Dutchess, Orange and Sullivan. To get involved in these races, contact Tim Mathews at 585-506-7745.

• City of Beacon Council Member At Large
  Lee Kyriacou


• City of Beacon Council Member Ward 2
  Charles Patrick Kelly


• City of Beacon Council Member Ward 4
  Sara Jane Pasti


• City of Beacon Mayor
  Steve Keith Gold


• City of Kingston Alderperson Ward 2
  Jennifer Ann Ringwood


• City of Kingston Alderperson Ward 3
  Charles Landi


• City of Kingston Alderperson Ward 4
  Matthew G. Ryan


• City of Kingston Alderperson Ward 5
  Ann Marie DiBella


• City of Kingston Alderperson Ward 6
  Robert W. Gillon


• City of Kingston Alderperson Ward 7
  William P. Reynolds


• City of Kingston Alderperson Ward 8
  Robert L. Senor


• City of Kingston Mayor
  James M. Sottile


• City of Middletown Alderman 1st Ward
  Maxine Leigh Meyer


• City of Newburgh Council Member
  Marge Bell


• City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Member Ward 1
  Thomas E. Parise


• City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Member Ward 2
  Erik Haight


• City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Member Ward 3
  Robert L. Mallory Jr.


• City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Member Ward 4
  Brian Doyle


• City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Member Ward 5
  Penny Lewis


• City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Member Ward 6
  Mary S. Solomon


• City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Member Ward 7
  Gwendolyn C Johnson


• City of Poughkeepsie Common Council Member Ward 8
  Dennis G. Weinel


• City of Poughkeepsie Mayor
  Fred Knapp


• County of Dutchess Clerk
  Richard M. Anderson


• County of Dutchess County Executive
  Joseph Ruggiero


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 11
  Joel Tyner


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 13
  William F. McCabe


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 14
  Sandra Goldberg


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 15
  Roger P. Higgins


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 18
  Ronald S. Ray


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 19
  Richard A. Hermans


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 2
  Susan Tooker


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 20
  Susan Goldstein


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 22
  Matthew James Hanson


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 24
  Peter G. Wassell


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 25
  Margaret G. Fettes


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 4
  Diane Nash


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 5
  Richard F. Keller-Coffey


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 6
  Frederick Bunnell


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 7
  Dan Kuffner


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 8
  Jane Smith


• County of Dutchess County Legislator District 9
  Steve White


• County of Sullivan Clerk
  Neil M. Gilberg


• County of Sullivan County Legislator District 1
  Patrick Joseph Harrison


• County of Sullivan County Legislator District 2
  Kathleen Mary LaBuda


• County of Sullivan County Legislator District 3
  Elwin M. Wood


• County of Sullivan County Legislator District 6
  Peter Frederick Gozza


• County of Sullivan County Legislator District 7
  Mark J. Sherman


• County of Sullivan County Legislator District 9
  Sam Wohl


• County of Sullivan Sullivan County Judge and Surrogate
  Cindy Barber


• County of Ulster County Legislator District 10
  Susan E. Zimet, Hector Samuel Rodriguez


• County of Ulster County Legislator District 12
  David Donaldson


• County of Ulster County Legislator District 2
  Donald J. Gregorius, Brian Shapiro


• County of Ulster County Legislator District 3
  Robert S. Parete, Richard A. Parete, Peter George Kraft Jr.


• County of Ulster County Legislator District 4
  Joshua Paul Boughton, Joseph P. Roberti Jr., Gary Bischoff, Bonni Nechemias


• County of Ulster County Legislator District 5
  Brian B. Cahill


• County of Ulster County Legislator District 6
  Jeanette Provenzano, Frank R. Dart


• County of Ulster County Legislator District 7
  Sal Silvestro, Philip C. Terpening, Alan Lomita


• County of Ulster County Legislator District 8
  Tracey Bartels, Tim Hunter


• County of Ulster District Attorney
  Jonathan R. Sennett


• Town of Amenia Council Member
  Glenn Caldarelli, Joel E. Pelkey


• Town of Amenia Supervisor
  Wayne M. Euvrard


• Town of Bethel Council Member
  Janet M. Scherf


• Town of Bethel Supervisor
  Daniel Sturm


• Town of Blooming Grove Supervisor
  Victor Quinton


• Town of Callicoon Board Member
  Sonja Hedlund


• Town of Cornwall Supervisor
  James Anthony Sollami


• Town of Deerpark Supervisor
  Mark David House


• Town of East Fishkill Clerk
  Lisa M. LaPine


• Town of East Fishkill Highway Superintendent
  David Neil LaPine


• Town of Esopus Council Member
  Stephanie R. Aivaz


• Town of Esopus Highway Superintendent
  Michael Joseph Cafaldo Sr.


• Town of Esopus Receiver of Taxes
  Susan M. Carnes


• Town of Esopus Supervisor
  Deborah Silvestro


• Town of Esopus Town Justice
  Sarah Rakov


• Town of Fallsburg Supervisor
  Kenneth Michael DeMars


• Town of Fallsburg Town Council (Four Year Term)
  Kevin Austin McDaniel, Ada E. Cole


• Town of Fallsburg Town Council (Unexpired Four Year Term)
  Deborah Chandler


• Town of Fishkill Board Member
  Patricia Susan Fleming


• Town of Fishkill Supervisor
  David E. Eberle


• Town of Fishkill Town Justice
  Linda Lebensold


• Town of Highland Council Member
  Kenneth J. Byrne


• Town of Highland Council Member District 2
  Paul Zimmermann


• Town of Hurley Supervisor
  Michael C. Shultis


• Town of Hyde Park Council Member Ward 4
  Rich Perkins


• Town of Hyde Park Town Justice
  David Steinberg


• Town of Lloyd Supervisor
  Joseph James Avampato Jr.


• Town of Lumberland Board Member District 1
  Keith Edward Gilmour


• Town of Lumberland Board Member District 2
  Van B. Krzywicki


• Town of Mamakating Council Member
  Richard Wayne Morris


• Town of Mamakating Supervisor
  Robert Eugene Fiore


• Town of Marbletown Supervisor
  Vincent C. Martello


• Town of Marlborough Council Member
  Madeleine Myers-Stearns


• Town of Marlborough Supervisor
  Alphonso Philip Lanzetta


• Town of Poughkeepsie Town Justice
  Richard Wolf, David Sears


• Town of Red Hook Town Justice
  Jonah Triebwasser


• Town of Rochester Council Member
  Francis Gray, Donna-Marie Ragonese


• Town of Rochester Supervisor
  Pam Duke


• Town of Rochester Town Justice
  Paul Shaheen


• Town of Rosendale Supervisor
  Patrick McDonough


• Town of Rosendale Town Justice
  Robert Vosper Jr.


• Town of Saugerties Board Member
  Leeanne Thornton, Fred M. Costello Jr.


• Town of Saugerties Supervisor
  Gregory L. Helsmoortel


• Town of Stanford Council Member
  Virginia Stern


• Town of Stanfordville Council Member
  Johanna Shafer


• Town of Thompson Supervisor
  Anthony P. Cellini


• Town of Ulster Highway Superintendent
  James Corrigan


• Town of Ulster Supervisor
  Nicky B. Woerner


• Town of Ulster Town Justice
  Edward Aleo


• Town of Wallkill Council Member Ward 3
  Kevin J. Mulqueen


• Town of Wallkill Council Member Ward 4
  Nina Guenste


• Town of Wappinger Clerk
  Chris Masterson


• Town of Wappinger Council Member Ward 3
  Maureen McCarthy


• Town of Wappinger Council Member Ward 4
  Joseph Patrick Paoloni


• Town of Woodstock Supervisor
  Jeff Moran


• Town of Woodstock Town Justice
  Franklyn J. Engel

WFP Herkimer-Oneida Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Herkimer-Oneida Chapter. To get involved in these races, contact Jim Curtacci at 315-736-1126.

• City of Rome Common Council Member Ward 3
  Angela B. Petty


• City of Rome Common Council Member Ward 4
  Ramona Luiere Smith


• City of Rome Common Council Member Ward 7
  James R. Murphy


• City of Utica Common Council Member At Large
  Lynne Mishalanie, Lorraine E. Arcuri, Frank Anthony Meola


• City of Utica Common Council Member District 2
  James A. Zecca


• City of Utica Common Council Member District 5
  Bill Phillips


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 1
  Frank Puma


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 14
  David Joesph Gordon


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 22
  Shannon Lee Scott


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 23
  Rose Ann Convertino


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 24
  Emil R. Paparella


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 25
  Larry R. Tanoury Jr.


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 26
  Daniel N. LaBella


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 27
  Vincent Peter Scalise


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 29
  Patricia A. Hudak


• County of Oneida County Legislator District 7
  Frank D. Tallarino


• County of Oneida District Attorney
  Scott D. McNamara


• Town of Kirkland Council Member
  Michael D. O'Neil


• Town of Kirkland Supervisor
  Robert J. Meelan


• Town of Kirkland Town Justice
  Stephen Samoyedny


• Town of Verona Supervisor
  Darrell C. Curtis

WFP Fingerlakes Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Fingerlakes Chapter. The Fingerlakes Chapter represents the counties of Monroe and Ontario. To get involved in these races, contact Larry Knox at 585-232-6980 ext 107.

• City of Rochester School Commissioner
  Vincent Rodney Felder


• City of Canandaigua Council Member Ward 4
  Margery L. Anthony


• City of Canandaigua Mayor
  Ellen M. Polimeni


• City of Geneva Council Member
  Jacqueline A. Augustine, Rocco "Chip" Capraro


• City of Rochester Council Member Northeast District
  Lovely Ann Warren


• City of Rochester Council Member Northwest District
  Carla M. Palumbo


• City of Rochester Council Member South District
  Adam Caesar McFadden


• City of Rochester School Commissioner
  Willa W. Powell, Melisza Campos, Malik Evans


• County of Monroe County Executive
  Patrick Christopher


• County of Monroe County Legislator District 1
  Todd Dunn


• County of Monroe County Legislator District 10
  Ted Nixon


• County of Monroe County Legislator District 11
  Susan L. Davis


• County of Monroe County Legislator District 17
  Edward M. O'Brien


• County of Monroe County Legislator District 26
  Steve Eckel


• County of Monroe County Legislator District 27
  Willie Joe Lightfoot


• County of Monroe County Legislator District 6, Four Year Term
  Richard A. Beebe


• County of Monroe County Legislator District 8
  Carmen Gumina


• County of Monroe Family Court Judge
  Sidney Farber


• Town of Brighton Supervisor
  Sandra L. Frankel


• Town of Brighton Town Justice
  Karen Morris


• Town of Chili Supervisor
  David J. Dunning


• Town of Clarkson Council Member
  Sheldon Meyers IV


• Town of Gates Council Member
  Mark A. McIntee


• Town of Gates Supervisor
  Susan Irene Swanton


• Town of Greece Council Member Ward 2
  Judy Mae Knights


• Town of Greece Council Member Ward 3
  Maureen V. Dauphinee


• Town of Greece Council Member Ward 4
  Gary Pudup


• Town of Irondequoit Council Member
  Stephanie Aldersley, John Perticone


• Town of Irondequoit Supervisor
  Mary Ellen Heyman


• Town of Irondequoit Town Justice
  Edward Knaak Jr.


• Town of Ogden Council Member
  Anthony Leroy McCollough, Wayne McCrossen


• Town of Ogden Supervisor
  Garry L. Cranker


• Town of Parma Town Justice
  Harriet Zunno


• Town of Penfield Council Member
  Elizabeth D. Andrzejewicz


• Town of Perinton Council Member
  David A. Wolf


• Town of Riga Supervisor
  Kenneth J. Kuter


• Village of East Rochester Mayor
  Jason William Koon


• Village of East Rochester Trustee
  Andrew Serrano, Herman L. Parson III

WFP Central New York Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Central New York Chapter. The Central New York Chapter represents the counties of Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego and Tompkins. To get involved in these races, contact Hilary Penney at 315-424-1743 ext 146.

• City of Syracuse City Auditor
  Philip J. LaTessa


• City of Syracuse City Court Judge
  Vanessa Bogan, James Cecile


• City of Syracuse Commissioner of Education
  Ned Deuel, Nancy K. McCarty, Laurie J. Menkin, Calvin L. Corriders


• City of Syracuse Councilor At Large
  Bill Ryan, Kathleen Joy


• City of Syracuse Councilor District 2
  Patrick J. Hogan


• City of Syracuse Councilor District 3
  John Ryan Mcmahon II


• City of Syracuse Councilor District 4
  Thomas M. Seals


• City of Syracuse Councilor District 5
  Lance Denno


• County of Cayuga District Attorney
  Michael G Bass


• County of Onondaga County Executive
  William B. Magnarelli


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 1
  James Borchik


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 12
  Victoria Lightcap


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 14
  Gary Morris Sr.


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 16
  Sam Laguzza


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 18
  Monica Williams


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 2
  Donald J. MacLaughlin


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 3
  Brad Ward


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 4
  David M. Stott


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 5
  Phil Drury


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 6
  Karen Hanford


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 7
  Thomas C. Buckel Jr.


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 8
  James Arthur Corbett


• County of Onondaga County Legislator District 9
  Mark Stanczyk


• County of Onondaga District Attorney
  Tina C. Bennet


• County of Onondaga Family Court Judge
  Marc Waldauer


• Town of Cicero Clerk
  David Christopher Olson


• Town of Cicero Council Member
  Lynn Jennings, Jessica Zambrano


• Town of Cicero Supervisor
  Chester A. Dudzinski Jr.


• Town of DeWitt Council Member
  Vicki Baker


• Town of Dewitt Supervisor
  Ed Michalenko


• Town of DeWitt Town Clerk
  Barbara Klim


• Town of Liverpool Council Member
  Thomas Stack


• Town of Onondaga Council Member
  Brian David Madigan


• Town of Salina Council Member Ward 2
  John R. Davies


• Town of Salina Council Member Ward 3
  Chris Benz


• Town of Salina Council Member Ward 4
  Sharon A. Jacquin


• Town of Salina Supervisor
  Michael P. Giarrusso


• Town of Salina Town Justice
  George Alessio Jr.


• Town of Skaneateles Council Member
  Nancy Murray, Kathryn A. Carlson

WFP Endorses Ed Kosiur for the 105th AD

The Working Families Party endorses Ed Kosiur for the 105th Assembly seat, to be filled in a Special Election on July 31st.

Ed Kosiur is a Schenectady County Legislator who has gotten the WFP endorsement in the past. Ed was instrumental in passing a resolution supporting Fair Share for Health Care in the County Legislature, and has been supportive of the Working Families Time to Care Act.

There will be a July 31 Special Election to fill the Assembly seat in the 105th AD. The special election will fill the vacancy left by Paul Tonko, who has resigned to to take a position with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

WFP Capital District Chapter 2007 Endorsements

Here are the 2007 endorsements from the Working Families Party Capital District Chapter. The Capital District Chapter represents the counties of Albany, Columbia, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady. To get involved in these races, contact Nicki Weiner at 518-445-0905.

The Capital District Chapter's top priorities are two of its earliest endorsements, Mike Manning for Mayor of Watervliet and Ken Zalewski for Troy City Council. Manning, who was endorsed by the WFP in his 2005 run for City Council, has brought a lot of change to the City of Watervliet as a council member and will do even more as Mayor.

Ken Zalewski, candidate for Troy City Council, will bring energy and vision to the City of Troy. The WFP, which is running Zalewski's field campaign, is excited about the work Zalewsi has been doing within the community, most recently as a visible proponent of the WFPs local efforts to bring integrity to City government in Troy.

• City of Hudson Alderperson District 1, Second Ward
  Lyle J. Shook Jr.
• City of Hudson Supervisor 4th Ward
  Staley B. Keith
• City of Mechanicville Commissioner of Accounts
  Stacie A. Salvi
• City of Mechanicville Commissioner of Finance
  Salvatore C. Izzo
• City of Mechanicville Supervisor
  Thomas Joseph Richardson
• City of Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Accounts
  John Paul Franck
• City of Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Finance
  M. Jane Weihe
• City of Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety
  Ronald J. Kim
• City of Saratoga Springs Mayor
  Valerie Keehn
• City of Saratoga Springs Supervisor
  Cheryl L. Keyrouze, Joanne Dittes Yepsen
• City of Schenectady Council Member
  Thomas Augustine Della Sala, Denise K. Brucker, Margaret C. King, Joseph L. Allen
• City of Schenectady Mayor
  Brian U. Stratton
• City of Troy Council Member At Large
  Marjorie Mahar DerGurahian, John F. Brown, Clement W. Campana
• City of Troy Council Member District 1
  Victor M. DeBonis
• City of Troy Council Member District 2
  Mary E. Sweeney
• City of Troy Council Member District 3
  Peter John Ryan Sr.
• City of Troy Council Member District 4
  William S. Dunne
• City of Troy Council Member District 5
  Kenneth J. Zalewski
• City of Troy Council Member District 6
  Gary L. Galuski
• City of Troy Mayor
  James J. Conroy
• City of Watervliet Council Member
  Charlie Diamond
• City of Watervliet Mayor
  Michael P. Manning
• County of Albany County Comptroller
  Patricia J. Slavick
• County of Albany County Executive
  Michael G. Breslin
• County of Albany County Legislator District 1
  George Infante
• County of Albany County Legislator District 10
  Daniel P. McCoy
• County of Albany County Legislator District 11
  Gary W. Domalewicz
• County of Albany County Legislator District 13
  William Mcneal Clay
• County of Albany County Legislator District 14
  Raymond F. Joyce III
• County of Albany County Legislator District 15
  Phillip G. Steck
• County of Albany County Legislator District 17
  Sean E. Ward
• County of Albany County Legislator District 18
  Shawn M. Morse
• County of Albany County Legislator District 2
  Lucille McKnight
• County of Albany County Legislator District 20
  Timothy D. Nichols
• County of Albany County Legislator District 25
  Ryan Vincent Horstmyer
• County of Albany County Legislator District 26
  Richard A. Gross
• County of Albany County Legislator District 27
  Richard P. Jacobson
• County of Albany County Legislator District 30
  Allen F. Maikels
• County of Albany County Legislator District 31
  William F. Aylward Jr.
• County of Albany County Legislator District 36
  Howard A. Shafer
• County of Albany County Legislator District 39
  Kevin G. Crosier
• County of Albany County Legislator District 5
  Norma Chapman
• County of Albany County Legislator District 6
  Christopher Thomas Burke
• County of Albany County Legislator District 8
  Doug Bullock
• County of Columbia Coroner
  George F. Davis
• County of Columbia District Attorney
  Eugene Keeler
• County of Columbia Treasurer
  Carol Gilbert-Sacks
• County of Rensselaer District Attorney
  Richard J. McNally
• County of Saratoga Coroner
  Matt Sousa
• County of Schenectady County Legislator District 1
  Vincent M. DiCerbo, Michael John Petta
• County of Schenectady County Legislator District 2
  Gary E. Hughes
• County of Schenectady County Legislator District 3
  William R. Chapman, Paul C. Webster III
• County of Schenectady County Legislator District 4
  Robert Joseph Godlewski, Anthony W. Jasenski Sr.
• County of Washington Coroner
  Sheela Joyce Martel
• Town of Austerlitz Town Justice
  Cheryl Roberts
• Town of Ballston Council Member
  George Seymour
• Town of Ballston Supervisor
  Patti Southworth
• Town of Brunswick Clerk
  Jean A Howard
• Town of Brunswick Council Member
  Susan Hoff Haynes, James J. Brearton
• Town of Brunswick Supervisor
  Vito Grasso
• Town of Clifton Park Clerk
  Theresa Izzo
• Town of Clifton Park Council Member
  Nancy Bellamy, Margaret Catellier
• Town of Clifton Park Town and County Supervisor
  Arthur Vandervoort
• Town of Clifton Park Town Justice
  Robert Rybak
• Town of Colonie Council Member
  Robert D. Becker
• Town of Colonie Supervisor
  Paula A. Mahan
• Town of Copake Council Member
  Carl Ritchie
• Town of Copake Supervisor
  Linda Sue Gabaccia
• Town of Duanesburg Town Justice
  Camille J. Siano Enders
• Town of Glenville Town Justice
  Carol M. Dillon
• Town of Greenfield Board Member
  Lisa M. Kosek
• Town of Halfmoon Town Justice
  Jeffrey Hartnett
• Town of Hillsdale Town Justice
  Russ Immarigeon
• Town of Hoosick Council Member
  Robert H. Ryan
• Town of Hoosick Supervisor
  Marilyn K. Douglas
• Town of Johnsburg Council Member
  Ronald G. Vanselow
• Town of Kinderhook Board Member
  Peter - Bujanow, Francis J. McKearin IV
• Town of Kinderhook Clerk
  Kimberly Ann Pinkowski
• Town of Kinderhook Supervisor
  Doug McGivney
• Town of Malta Clerk
  Cynthia C. Young
• Town of Milton Board Member
  Margaret Stevens
• Town of Moreau Board Member
  Gina Maria LeClair Jr.
• Town of Moreau Supervisor
  Preston Leroy Jenkins Jr.
• Town of Nassau Council Member
  Susan Hains, Fred Nuffer
• Town of Nassau Supervisor
  Michael I. Roland
• Town of New Lebanon Town Justice
  Darcy L. Poppey
• Town of Niskayuna Clerk
  Helen F. Kopke
• Town of Niskayuna Council Member
  Liz Orzel Kasper, Julie Bean McDonnell
• Town of Niskayuna Justice
  Stephen F. Swinton Jr.
• Town of Niskayuna Supervisor
  Joe Landry
• Town of North Greenbush Council Member At Large
  Josephine Ashworth, Brian Dwyer
• Town of North Greenbush Highway Superintendent
  Mark J. Premo Sr.
• Town of Pittstown Town Justice
  Paul Mac Naughton
• Town of Princetown Council Member
  Rose Norkus
• Town of Rensselaerville Assesor
  Jeffry Pine
• Town of Rensselaerville Council Member
  Gary Jon Chase Jr.
• Town of Rensselaerville Council Member
  Marie Dermody, Gary Jon Chase Jr.
• Town of Rensselaerville Town Justice
  Victor La Plante
• Town of Rotterdam Council Member
  Richard W. Leet, John M. Silva
• Town of Rotterdam Supervisor
  William J. Cooke
• Town of Sand Lake Clerk
  Christine Marie Kronau
• Town of Sand Lake Council Member
  Burton J. Rounds, Raymond C. Turner
• Town of Sand Lake Receiver of Taxes
  Barbara Ann Biittig
• Town of Sand Lake Supervisor
  William C. Reinhardt Sr.
• Town of Stillwater Supervisor
  J. Gregory Connors
• Town of Stuyvesant Board Member
  Rosalind Gumaer, Marilyn F. Burch
• Town of Stuyvesant Supervisor
  Lee Jamison

More WFP at TPM Cafe

Here a crosspost of the third guest post on fusion at the Talking Points Memo Cafe:

Fusion: What’s in it for Democrats?

In the first two posts, I tried to make the case for “fusion” voting as something that will really help liberals, progressives, labor, enviros, anti-poverty activists, climate change campaigners, you name it. Today I’ll try to make the case for fusion as a good reform that Democrats as a party should favor.

But a quick reminder if you’re just joining: “fusion” is a simple election reform that allows voters to vote for a candidate on more than one party line.

In New York, Governor Eliot Spitzer won last year running on both the Democratic and Working Families lines. The 155,000 New Yorkers who voted for him on the Working Families line were helping elect a Democrat and end 12 years of Republican misrule in Albany, but they were also helping to build an independent progressive third party and signal that they wanted the new governor to focus on the economic interests of working people – affordable health care, stronger unions, fairer taxes and support for working parents. One result – Gubernatorial support for a universal Paid Family Leave program.

For progressives, fusion is a no-brainer. And it will be even more so in the – knock on wood! – coming era of Democratic dominance on a national level. We’ll be constantly faced with the choice of devoting our energy to supporting the Democrats or maintaining an independent presence to their left. Fusion lets us do both.

But what’s in it for the Democrats?

Fusion was once legal in all 50 states but is now banned in all but half a dozen. Why should legislators in Maine or Oregon or Colorado or New Mexico want re-legalize it?

I don’t want to overclaim, but as it turns out, there are several good reasons for Democratic elected officials to favor the re-legalization of fusion voting. The impact of fusion is at the margins – even in New York, Working Families has never reached even 5 percent of the statewide vote (though we will soon!) But plenty of elections are decided by just a few percentage points. How can fusion move those critical last points to good, progressive Dems?

First, by attracting independents and “Reagan” Democrats. They may not like the Democratic Party, but they like the idea of a third party that advocates for things like universal health care and higher wages. Second, by attracting “greens” and other progressives who want to “send a message” to the Democrats from the left without spoiling. Third, by bringing new voters into the political process. And fourth, by fostering creation of fusion parties like the WFP, which, if I can boast a moment, runs one of the best grassroots electoral operations in the country.

I’m going to start by talking about the second piece – fusion as a tool for attracting progressives and solving the “spoiler” problem. Tomorrow I’ll turn to the even-more-important question of independents and new voters.

The left. Also known as solving the Nader problem. But actually, spoiling is a persistent problem, not a freak occurrence in 2000. . In New Mexico, the Green vote exceeded the Republicans’ margin of victory in the 1994 Governor’s race and again in a 1998 Congressional race. In the latter race, if even half the Green voters had supported the Dem, he would have won. More recently, several well-meaning but not very strategic Green candidates in Maine have enabled Republicans to win elections they would have almost certainly lost. (On the right, Libertarians have done the same thing to the advantage of Democrats, but in general spoiling is a much bigger problem for our side].)

I hasten to say, I don’t especially blame Green (or Libertarian) voters. They’re doing what they’re supposed to do in a democracy – coming out and supporting the party they believe in. The problem is an electoral system that means their votes have the exact opposite effect of what they intended.

With fusion, they would have another choice – support both their preferred party and a candidate who can actually win. Some voters will still choose to vote for the third-party candidate, of course, but most would prefer not to vote for a spoiler if there’s another way to support a progressive third party. That’s certainly the case in New York, where many Green Party voters have migrated to the Working Families Party, and in so doing are helping to “green up” the WFP’s identity. Most citizens prefer to cast a meaningful vote than a purely symbolic protest vote, if there’s a principled way to do it.

It’s undeniable that if we’d had fusion and a Working Families-type party in Florida in 2000, we’d now be in the seventh year of a Gore presidency. That’s why important leaders of the Democratic Party – people like Chuck Schumer -- are active supporters of fusion. They don’t agree with us on everything– but they know that in the big fights we’re on the same side. And they know that an independent fusion party brings something they vitally need in close races – credibility with the small but active and energetic group of voters who want to send a message to the Democrats.

Small, however, is a key word. I don’t mean to dismiss progressives – I’m one myself. But we aren’t where the big game is. That’s in the “center,” with swing voters, especially the “Reagan Democrats” (anyone ever hear of a Kerry Republican?), working-class voters who are with the Dems on economic issues but won’t vote for them because of their (real or perceived) stances on hot-button issues like gun control or prayer in schools. Fusion helps there too, and the potential gains are even bigger. So that will be the subject of my next post.

Join the discussion. Do you think we need a way to put pressure on Democrats while still electing them to office?

WFP at TPM Cafe: The Value of Independent Organizations

Here's a crosspost of today's WFP guest post at the Talking Points Memo Cafe:

Fusion: The Value of Independent Organizations (Or, Because the Angel Moroni Won't be Back Anytime Soon)

Yesterday I wrote about how fusion voting works in New York:

By allowing voters to support a major party candidate on a minor-party line, fusion solves the “wasted vote” and “spoiler” dilemmas that otherwise plague third parties. There have been many fusion parties in our nation’s history – the Populists being the most famous – but it can be used by left, right and center. Democracy means everyone gets to play.

For a progressive-minded party like New York’s Working Families, we have almost always cross-endorsed (or “fused”) with Democrats, but occasionally we will endorse a decent Republican, run our own stand-alone WFP candidate against the major parties, or leave our line BLANK when there didn’t seem to be a good reason to endorse anyone.

By delivering 8,000-plus votes for Brian Higgins in his 2004 Congressional race, we were the margin that put another good Democrat (make that, Dem-WFP) in Congress. By delivering 155,000 votes for Eliot Spitzer for Governor, OK, we weren’t close to the margin of victory, but we did signal that a substantial fraction of the New York electorate expects real progress toward universal health care, public election financing, and universal paid family leave and sick days over the next four years.

Great, that’s New York. Why should the rest of the country care? Here’s why.

Nathan Newman, a TPM regular and long time friend of the Working Families Party, has been predicting for some time that the election of a Democratic president will trigger a fracture of left blogistan and progressives generally. Barring a devastating ferret invasion or divine intervention by the angel Moroni, this prediction is very likely to be put to the test in January 2009.

The lines of the split are already visible. On one side are those who see progressives as the loyal foot soldiers of elected Democrats. For them, the inevitable difficulties and disappointments of the coming Democratic era will be testimony to the inherent inertia of American politics and the tenacity of Republican dead-enders. Every setback will be a further argument for tighter discipline and a narrower focus on the achievable.

On the other side are those for whom the program, not the party, is foremost. If, come year three of a Democratic administration, American troops are still in Iraq, millions of Americans still lack health coverage, and K Street is still thriving, it will be a sign to some that the strategy of supporting Democrats has failed. You can go through the exercise yourself of guessing who will fall on which side, but there’s no question there will be a split.

In the classic tradition of practical politicians, I’d argue that both sides are right.

Atrios, who is as likely as anyone to bridge this divide, says “More and better Democrats”. That’s right. At the Federal level especially, the damage done by the Bush crowd is monumental and monumentally depressing, and the first rule is to get control and STOP. Of course, the more we elect “better” Democrats, not just more, the happier we’ll be. That means maintaining our independence, institutionally as well as intellectually, so we can insist in a meaningful way on what it means to be a good Democrat and get actually existing Democrats to come closer to this standard.

It’s not a new problem. It’s the same dilemma that faces any institutional actor whose heart still beats on the left – unions, immigrants, gays and lesbians, health care advocates, students, whoever. As a practical matter, the more Democrats are in office, the more likely we are to get at least some piece of our agenda enacted. At times, electing Democrats can be literally a matter of life or death.

But on the other hand, the more firmly we bind ourselves to the Dems, the less leverage we have over them. The Democratic Party isn’t like Old Labour in the U.K.: unions and other organizations don’t have any direct role in governing it. (Actually, it isn’t really a party at all, but that’s a subject for another time.) Power means voice or exit; if we don’t have a voice we need the option to exit; but where, realistically, are disillusioned progressives to go?

Not to third party candidates, that’s for sure. Under America’s winner-take-all electoral system, third-party politics is a chump’s game. Anything short of a plurality might as well be nothing. So at best you should have stayed home; at worst you accomplish the exact opposite of what you intended. (See Nader, R.)

At the local level there are times and places when third party candidacies do make sense, but building them into a coherent movement is another story. Electing progressives in Democratic primaries is a much more promising approach, but it does nothing to build a lasting organization that can work 365 days a year to advance our issues in real-time. People who go this route become, for better or worse, part of the vague, amorphous milieu of Democratic politics. The Jesse Jackson campaign was the most exciting effort to build progressive power within the Democratic Party in the past generation, and left a positive institutional legacy – but it’s still just a legacy, and not an organization. Michael Harrington used to say that true leftists had to build organizations. He was right.

We need a strategy that allows us to wholeheartedly work for “more and better Democrats” without simply being absorbed in the Democratic Party. And we need a strategy that lets us build our own distinct progressive institutions without losing sight of the need to exercise real power in the here and now. I DON’T claim that fusion is the ONLY approach that resolves this dilemma, but it’s certainly one of the most promising ones.

Fusion allows progressives to actively, wholeheartedly campaign for good Democrats without giving up the idea of a distinct party for working people and their allies. In fact, progressive Democrats in New York – both elected officials and organizational leaders from labor and community and environmental groups – are our strongest allies, because we all want the state and nation to move in a better direction, and this is a uniquely potent tool for making that happen.

Some readers don’t think the left needs its own independent political structure, supportive of but distinct from the Democrats. That’s a legitimate view, and if you’re in that camp, you don’t need fusion or the Working Families Party.

But if you do think there’s a space for a political structure to prod the Democrats in a more progressive direction [think MoveOn], then fusion is the ticket. Our strategy, in fact, might be understood as providing a ballot line that could and hopefully will be the natural and happy home for MoveOn members, union members, ACORN members, Sierra Club members and so on and so forth.

I don’t mean to be a bore, but third parties without fusion (remember – it was once legal in EVERY state) are just writing themselves out of politics. Run in a close election, and you spoil. Run in a safe Dem district, and you might as well run in the Democratic primary instead. And whatever the district, you’ll never recruit candidates to run year in, year out, which is what it takes to develop a reliable vote. Whatever you want to call the political orientation TPM readers share, there are a lot of us, but not a plurality. And 3 percent or 5 percent or even 10 percent just doesn’t allow you to accomplish anything under winner-take-all.

With fusion it’s a different story. The Working Families Party supports Democrats in close races – just ask the five Congressional Ds who owe their election in some measure to the votes they got on the WFP line – that’s the “more Democrats” part. But, unlike other organizations that support Democrats in particular races, every election under fusion is also a chance to enlarge the population of reliable progressive third-party voters. And we don't need to recruit candidates to run in each of the hundreds of districts we're present in each year. Fusion is about the organization, not the individual candidate.

Without fusion, progressives have a stark choice. Support the Dem and forego the chance to develop an alternative political identity. Or run a third-party candidate and help send a Republican to Washington. With fusion, we get to have it both ways. We help elect the Democrat, but we also increase the pool of voters voting on the WFP line, giving us a credible threat to exit if the Dems don’t deliver.

Good deal for progressives? Absolutely. But what’s in it for the Democrats? That’s the subject for my next post.

What do you think? Head on over to TPM Cafe and be part of the debate.

WFP at TPM Cafe

All week, Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor will be blogging at the Talking Points Memo Cafe. Head on over and check it out.

For Your Phone: Affordable Housing Ringtone

"Starrett City and its 20,000 residents can't wait until the fall for the legislature to protect their homes. Their homes are set to be sold before the next session begins - and then they'll have nowhere to turn . . . We can't wait one minute longer. The Assembly has passed this important legislation, but we need the Senate and the Governor to put these bills on their agendas before they can become law. If Governor Spitzer and Senator Bruno do not act during this session, we will immediately lose 6,000 affordable apartments and thousands more in other Mitchell-Lama buildings . . . There are only two possibilities - either we pass these vital reforms, or thousands of the voters who believed we would change New York for the better will be pushed out of their homes."

- Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns, chair of the Assembly's Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus

The state legislative session ended with the Republican-controlled State Senate refusing to take action to protect affordable housing, even though thousands of units of affordable housing are going to be lost this summer without Senate action.

New York Is Our Home made a trip to Albany during the legislative session to demand that Governor Spitzer and Senate Majority Leader Bruno pass A795, the Save Starrett City bill, and A352. The Assembly Housing Committee and the Assembly Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus joined with us. So what was our reception in the Senate?

Republican Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno flat out refused to meet with us.

That's a disgrace. With rents the way they are, Joe Bruno and his Senate Republican majority ought to be ashamed. And we're going to make sure everyone knows it.

First, tell your State Senators to pass affordable housing legislation.

Then download the New York Is Our Home "Shame on Bruno" ringtone for your phone.

When Bruno wouldn't meet with us in Albany, we protested outside of his office. Our chant then was "Shame on Bruno." Now we've turned that chant into a ringtone for your phone so you can put the pressure on. Here's the original ringtone and the remix version. When someone asks you what your ringtone is, explain how the Senate Republicans and Joe Bruno are getting rid of affordable housing through their inaction. If enough people download the ringtone then word will spread to your friends and to their friends, and we can reach enough people to force action to protect affordable housing.

If you want to know more, here is a detailed description of what New York Is Our Home stands for and here is the Losing Ground report that documents the housing affordability crisis.

One last thing: if you're on MySpace, add the WFP as a friend.

Telecommunications Reform Act : Let's Get Moving

The Albany Project is leading an effort to get the Telecommunications Reform Act unstuck. While the bill didn't pass during the legislative session, the coalition supporting the bill wants to show Eliot Spitzer that this is a bill New Yorkers support so they can make another run at passage. More here.

Take a second to give the governor a call at 518-474-8390 and ask him to support Assemblymember Brodsky's Telecommunications Reform Act.

They Must Think We're Stupid

Sometimes when I read the news, I have to wonder if I'm really supposed to fall for this. What's the this? Here's a sample:

1. Paris Hilton saying she doesn't do drugs and hardly drinks, after being released from jail for drunk driving.
2. Dick Cheney claiming he's not part of the Executive Branch, and so he can do whatever he wants with classified documents. The story unfolds here, here and here.
   
3. Ann Coulter saying she hadn't said anything about John Edwards, the day after saying she wished terrorists would kill him.

Have I missed any? Which do you think is most ridiculous? Vote in the poll, or leave your nominations in the comments.

Updating the WFP Blogroll

It's time to update the WFP blogroll. We want to add new blogs that have come on the New York scene and drop the ones that have, sadly, gone defunct.

Can you help out? What blogs are you reading? Leave a comment and let us know who should be on the blogroll.

Employee Free Choice Act Filibustered by Senate Republicans

Latest from the Senate floor: Senate Republicans have carried out their threat to filibuster the Employee Free Choice Act. The Senate held what's called a cloture vote to stop the Republican filibuster; 51 Senators voted for the bill - enough to pass the bill in a regular vote, but not enough to end the filibuster.

Both of New York's Senators voted for the Employee Free Choice Act. But that's not enough to overcome opposition from Republicans to a bill that would restore the freedom of American workers to join unions. Workers routinely face intimidation from employers when they try to form a union. In 25 percent of organizing campaigns, private-sector employers illegally fire workers because they want to form a union. Listen to YouTube clips of workers talking about their experiences trying to form a union in their workplace at the AFL-CIO blog.

Today's Reading: Rise and Fall of the CIO–ALP

Political Power and Social Theory is a series of books collecting academic topics in political science and social theory. Volume 18, Part II, focuses on "Opposition Politics in America" and includes a piece on the American Labor Party. Formed in the 1940s by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), the American Labor Party rose to prominence in New York. Check it out, with thanks to Google books.

Paid Family Leave Passes the Assembly

The Assembly has just passed the Working Families Time to Care Act, which will give paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives.

Now it's up to the Senate to decide whether New Yorkers will have paid family leave. While they've gone home for now, the Senate has committed to reconvene later this year, at which point they can pass the bill.

Thanks to everyone for all the hard work to get this far!

Assembly to Debate Paid Family Leave

The Working Families Time to Care Act came up for third reading in the Assembly and was laid aside for debate. When I have more details on the debate I'll post them here.

Send your Assemblymember a friendly reminder to pass paid family leave. The bill will give paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives.

Ways and Means Passes Paid Family Leave

The Assembly Ways and Means Committee has passed the Working Families Time to Care Act, which would give paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives.

Now it goes to the Assembly Rules Committee, and then to a vote by the full Assembly.

Send your Assemblymember a friendly reminder to pass paid family leave.

Down to the Wire in Albany

As the legislative session comes to a close this week, the Working Families Time to Care Act is still in the mix. As we get down to the wire, give your Assemblymember a friendly reminder to pass paid family leave.

In the Daily Politics:

[Gov Spitzer] plans to "keep pounding away" until Thursday in hopes of landing some agreements on the more intractable issues like campaign finance reform, congestion pricing, paid family leave and pay raises for judges.

In the Albany Times-Union:

Deals that are close:

• Paid family leave: allowing up to 12 weeks away from jobs, with employees paying for the benefit through a payroll deduction.

In the Empire Zone:

Issues on the table include proposals to start collecting DNA from anyone convicted of a misdemeanor, to offer employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a sick child or spouse and to speed approval procedures for new power plants.

In the Times Herald-Record:

But the issues lawmakers had debated for weeks — creating a system for paid family leave, renewing the state's power plant siting law or establishing a DNA database for criminals — remained locked in the maw of high-level negotiations.

Newsday quotes Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith:

"How can we convincingly tell our constituents that elected officials deserve a raise when the process fails to follow through with measures that ensure equal opportunity?"

Labor Committee Passes Paid Family Leave

The Assembly Labor Committee has passed the Working Families Time to Care Act, which would give paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives.

Now it's on to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, and then a vote by the full Assembly.

Send your Assemblymember a friendly reminder to pass paid family leave.

How Industrial Development Agency Reform Was Stopped

Subsidy reform is one of the issues the Working Families Party is working on this legislative session. The WFP wants to make sure that New Yorkers are getting their money's worth from subsidies paid to private corporations with our tax dollars.

The main vehicle for these subsidies are the 115 statewide Industrial Development Agencies. We want standards put in place for the Industrial Development Agencies that would add accountability measures for things like wage standards and hiring provisions. Wage standards, for example, would ensure that our tax dollars aren't supporting low-wage work or shoddy contractors. This TAP post has more background.

We think these accountability standards are common sense. If we're going to give money to private firms, we should expect some accountability on what they do with the money.

Both the Assembly and Senate made Industrial Development Agency Reform proposals this session. Assemblymember Sam Hoyt led the way in the Assembly with a comprehensive IDA Reform bill that we support. The Senate's proposal, by contrast, had little to offer in terms of the accountability measures that we think are necessary to make sure IDAs do their job well. But because of the media attention on bad IDA deals across the state, the Senate agreed to negotiate.

Then, at the last minute, the Senate walked away from the negotiating table. The reason? They were unwilling to discuss wage standards on IDA projects. Assemblymember Hoyt and Labor Committee Chair Susan John insisted on discussing wage standards in exchange for negotiating on other aspects of IDA reform. And the Assembly was willing to negotiate. They offered an alternative proposal, presented by Assemblymember Hoyt last Friday, and directed central staff to work over the weekend to reach a negotiated agreement.

But the Senate still wouldn't come to the table.

Call and tell your state Senator that you hold the Senate majority responsible for not reforming Industrial Development Agencies. There's no other reason for it - the Assembly passed a comprehensive reform bill on Monday, and now it's the Senate's turn to act. You can call the Senate switchoard at 518-455-2800 if you don't know who your state senator is and the switchboard operator can connect you to your Senator.

There are two more people to call, and these two deserve our thanks. Call Assemblymember Sam Hoyt at 518-455-4886 and Assembly Labor Committee Chair Susan John at 518-455-4527 to thank them for their hard work to pass IDA Reform this session.

Assembly Starts to Move on Paid Family Leave

Good news! The Assembly is taking up the Working Families Time to Care Act, which would give paid time off to parents of newborns (or newly adopted children) and adults who need time to care for ailing relatives.

The Assembly Labor Committee is scheduled to vote on the bill, A9245, in the next 24 hours, and the full Assembly is scheduled to vote on it afterward. If the bill is voted on as scheduled, we expect it to pass. But this is the final week of the state legislative session, and time is short. We need your help to make sure those votes happen as scheduled.

We're asking everyone to remind the Assembly that you're watching what happens with paid family leave.

Email a friendly reminder to the Assembly in support of paid family leave.

DMI at Take Back America

Head over to the Albany Project to watch Andrea Batista Schlesinger of the Drum Major Institute speak at the Take Back America conference. Then head over to DMI's web site to buy a ticket for the Drum Major for Justice Awards going on this Thursday, June 21st.

Albany Times-Union, Syracuse Post-Standard Editorialize in Support of Paid Family Leave

More newspapers have run editorials in support of the Working Families Time to Care Act in recent days.

There's the Albany Times-Union:

Most Capitol observers agree that the Legislature is not likely to take up family paid leave legislation until next year. That would be a mistake. Governor Spitzer has outlined a sensible, affordable plan to help family members cope with a newborn or care for an ill family member. The longer the issue is put off, the greater the chances that it will fall victim to legislative gridlock.
. . .
While workers today are entitled to unpaid leave under federal law, that presents many family members with a difficult choice between forgoing a paycheck to provide care at home, or paying someone else to do so in their place while they are at work.

The Post-Standard:

Workers are often caught in a desperate crossroads of providing care, holding onto their jobs and paying their bills. Providing them with even a small family leave payment is the right thing to do.

And it's time to make it happen.
. . .
The proposed plan, backed by family advocates, would improve employee morale and make the workplace more responsive to, and in harmony with, America's most important institution - the family.

And this op-ed in the Lower Hudson Journal News:

Time off to care for a newborn shouldn't be a luxury that only some families can afford - it should be a cornerstone of our society.
. . .
If we believe in a society where working families take care of each other, one in which new parents have the ability to take care of their children, then we should pass the Working Families Time to Care Act. If we believe in a society where working people have responsibilities both to their employers and to their families, and that a balance between those two responsibilities is critical to building a healthy community for all of us, then we should pass this bill.

Let us know why you support paid family leave - sign a card with a message of support to state legislators today!

Employee Free Choice Act Vote Next Wednesday

The Employee Free Choice Act is headed toward a Senate vote next week on Wednesday. The bill has already passed overwhelmingly in the House. Almost all of the New York House delegation voted for it - Tom Reynolds (R-NY 26) and John Kuhl (R-NY 29) were the only New York Reps in opposition - and New York's Senators support the bill. But whether the bill will pass the Senate is in doubt. Find out more about the opposition.

Why is this bill so important? Workers routinely face intimidation from employers when they try to form a union. In 25 percent of organizing campaigns, private-sector employers illegally fire workers because they want to form a union. Passing this law will restore American workers' freedom to join unions. And that will help workers improve their lives.

Don't think that's an issue? Listen to Greg Mendez's story.

Greg Mendez is an office systems coordinator at New York's Pace University. In 2004, Mendez and his co-workers sought to form a union with the New York State United Teachers/AFT. They wanted a transparent salary structure and grievance procedure in place of the university's arbitrary system of pay raises and promotions. In response, the university hired anti-worker consultants to run meetings several times a day. Union supporters who tried to speak up at these meetings were publicly attacked. "People got nervous, really nervous," says Mendez. "You would have thought we were trying to overthrow the government." Three years later, Pace University workers still are fighting the administration's campaign of intimidation.

And there are plenty more workers with stories just like Greg's.

In the end, it's all about workers making better lives for themselves and their families. Tell your U.S. Senator to pass the Employee Free Choice Act - and then, even more importanly, tell your friends in other states to take action. And when you've done that, take the poll.

Schenectady County Legislature Votes To Support Paid Family Leave

The Schenectady County Legislature voted for a resolution that endorses the Working Families Time to Care Act. The resolution passed with the support of all the Democrats in the County Legislature and the opposition of all the Republicans. The Albany Common Council passed a similar resolution last week. Both resolutions urge the local legislative delegation to do all they can to make sure this bill becomes law.

Schenectady County Legislator Gary Hughes explained his support:

"Fast cars, personal jets, expensive yachts - these are luxuries. But time off to care for a newborn shouldn't be a luxury that only some families can afford. This is about the principle of the thing - we should support working people who want to meet their responsibilities both on the job and to their families."

The United States is one of only four countries in the world that has no national paid family leave policy. State paid family leave legislation would help New Yorkers balance family and work.

Now it's your turn. Show your support for paid family leave!