Election Day Endorsements 2018

It's Election Day and, supporting democracy, I encourage everyone to vote.

Eugene V Debs famously said that "It is better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it."

Having had an opportunity to meet with representatives form the Green Party of NY yesterday at the Eugene V Debs Initiative celebration at the Adam Mickiewicz Library & Dramatic Circle, I feel confident in supporting the following people for elected office in NY State and in local elections.

Locally: I had an opportunity to meet with Green Party candidate Wade VanValkenburgh.  He is running for the Mayor's Office in Lockport, NY.  Wade was very interesting to speak with and listen to as he spoke about his campaign.  In our conversation he spoke of his interest in socialism as the solution to the capitalist crisis. "It is the only solution" and how he was gaining support from many different directions as people are getting sick of "politics as usual" and wanted new ideas and insights.  I had the opportunity to listen to him explain socialism to people at the event and he spoke with them & to their questions.  He never  put them down or became condescending.  He was positive, uplifting, and encouraging.  Having experience in green energy and a variety of social issues involving youth, I believe he will be a strong voice for change in Lockport.

Check out Wade's campaign on his Facebook page.

For the State level,  we are offering support to the Green Party candidates. 

Howie Hawkins, candidate for the Governor's Office, openly identifies as a socialist and has a platform that we can support, not limited to environmental justice, proper support for education, a single payer health plan, and a Green New Deal to address the climate crisis that our current leaders are sleep walking us into. Running for Lt. Governor is Jia Lee and supports these initiatives.

Michael Sussman is running for the Attorney General's Office and has experience as a civil rights lawyer and will pursue corporate criminals.

Mark Dunlea is running for Comptroller and will divest from fossil fuels.

To my knowledge there are only corporate controlled candidates running for other positions and therefore we will not endorse them.

We believe that it is important to vote and participate in the system to the extent that we are able to.  We recognize that a capitalist controlled democracy will never serve the will or the needs of the people.  We use this opportunity to point out the differences between us and the capitalists and the bankruptcy and corruption of the capitalist controlled democratic system.

There is more that I can say on this issue, however, being on cold medication right now and feeling it, I choose to keep this post simple and to the point.