Roosevelt Island residents
Joyce Short and Marc
Jonas Block are running for the
NY Democratic Party
State Committee
for the 76 Assembly District which represents Roosevelt Island and the Upper
East Side.
According to Ms Short:
Each State Assembly District gets 2 Committee Members, a man and a woman.
Voting for Marc and for me helps Roosevelt Island have two duly elected
committee members who actually live in our community. We have never had one in
the almost 47 years I’ve lived on Roosevelt Island. I believe that contributes
to Roosevelt Island’s needs being overlooked by NY State’s government.Being an elected State Committee Member is a political policy, not a
government position. But it has a significant affect on government. They are
tasked with a number of influential priorities:
- Oversight for campaign spending
- Creating the Democratic Party’s platform in NY State
- Selecting National Democratic Committee Members
- Providing endorsements for candidates throughout NY State
- Oversight over the party’s Ethics Code
- Encouraging political activism
As the present Committeewoman has stated, the party’s established leaders
have long seen the party’s treasury as their campaign’s piggy bank. In
principle, however, those funds are raised to support new-comers with fresh
ideas who will grow the future of the democratic party. As a senior, I
recognize how important it is to be able to pass the baton to the next
generation of leaders.Among a host of other issues, I’d like to make sure the Democratic Party
addresses two important things…..
- No residential community in NY State should ever be deprived of democratic
government. Our legislators throughout NY State have either turned a blind
eye, or are unaware of this situation on Roosevelt Island. I intend to
change that.- I have long fought for changes in our laws to conquer the pandemic of
sexual assault, sex trafficking and domestic violence. Legislators have
ignored the transformational changes that are needed. I aim to change that
as well.Residents in any Assembly District can impact government through Democratic
Clubs. We don’t have one on Roosevelt Island. I believe we need to change
that. Any resident who would like to take part in the formation of a
Democratic Club for Roosevelt Island can contact me at
[email protected].
I spoke with Ms Short
and Mr Block
during Roosevelt Island Day about their running for the NY Democratic Party
State Committee for the 76 Assembly District. Watch the videos to hear what
they have to say.
Erica Vladimer and Jeremy Berman
are running against Ms Short and Mr Block for the 76 AD Democratic Party State
Committee. According to their
website:
How will Erica and Jeremy reform State Committee?
- Increasing access to voting
- Building the bench
- Training Democratic candidates for office across New York
- Professionalizing the New York Democratic Party and reducing bureaucracy
- Walking the “ethics” walk
- Building a Party platform for all New Yorkers
For more details on how we plan to accomplish these goals,
see our full Policy Platform.
I spoke with Ms Vladimer and Mr Berman recently at the Roosevelt Island
Farmers Market.
Supporters of Ms Vladimer and Mr Berman have gone to Twitter to attack the
fundraising of Ms Short and Mr Block.
This is such a complete and utter disgrace that goes so far beyond this one
State Committee race. It’s unbelievable how thoroughly rotten the NYS
Democratic Party leadership is, and how completely infiltrated with
Republican saboteurs.— Ben Wetzler (@bd_wetz)
June 20, 2022
ICYMI: The chair of the state Dem party and a few of his friends have
decided to dump over $24,000 into our little State Committee race. I guess
because he knows
@EricaForNY
and
@JeremyBermanNY
would actually work to make the State Party stronger.https://t.co/8ZCxWGZ60b— Kim Moscaritolo (@kimmosc)
June 22, 2022
Mr. Block responds:
The referenced tweet is nothing more than an attempt to fabricate an issue
that does not exist. Joyce and I, in compliance with election laws, made
disclosures of contributions received by our campaigns. There is nothing
nefarious with compliance with disclosure laws, support by party leadership
or raising campaign capital. The merits of our campaigns are supported by
knowledgeable folks who understand the far reach of the positions for which
we are campaigning.The claims are ludicrous, including the idea that the Democratic Party of
New York is controlled by the Republican Party. If the tweeter was serious,
they should have checked their facts including how to spell my name.The truth of the matter is that Joyce and I are both long-time residents
with strong community ties. We are serious about this election.
Ms Short responds:
State Committee members are entrusted with policy making for the entire
State, even though we’re elected district by district. Similarly, when I
served as RIRA’s Secretary and Government Relations Chair for many years,
although Common Council members were elected by our individual building’s
residents, we served for the common good of the community.NY State Committee Members also impact the National Democratic Committee,
hence interest from outside NY State. There’s no surprise that a
knowledgeable person, who recognizes the far-reaching role of NYS Democratic
Committee Members, supports Marc and I.One of the many reasons we’re running for Committee positions is to provide
Roosevelt Islanders with a seat at an important political table where we’ve
never had a voice. Being acknowledged by a party leader is evidence that our
voices are welcomed and and that Marc and I have already made an impact.
The Upper East Side Patch
has more on the campaign donation issue.
Early voting for State Committee members is currently underway thru June 26
with Election Day on June 28. Roosevelt Island residents can vote early at Gallery RIVAA (527 Main Street) and at PS/IS 217 (645 Main Street) on Election Day.