[BwayDems] Letter to Broadway Democrats in Consideration for Endorsement

[Cheryl Pahaham]

May 8, 2013


Dear Broadway Democrats,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak to you on candidates’ night on April 11 at Bank Street College and to attend your spring fundraiser on May 5 at 107 West. I truly appreciated meeting with you and learning about your ideas and concerns. 

New York City’s Democratic clubs do the critical, essential work of community building and engaging neighbors in elections. Without these clubs, we lose our ability to judge candidates, connect politically with our neighbors, and care for the needs of those who live near us. 

Broadway Democrats, we share the same political values and have the same hopes for a truly diverse community—where people of all incomes, races, ethnicities and religion live, work, play and worship together; recognize each others’ needs and share and create public resources for the common good.

I got my start in organized politics as a teen-ager, when I was deeply disturbed and outraged by South Africa’s apartheid regime and so connected with the global struggle against apartheid. Some of you might remember the June 14, 1986 anti-apartheid march organized by the New York Anti-Apartheid Coordinating Council—I was there, too.

I continued my involvement in the global struggle as an undergraduate at Wesleyan University, where students pressured the school to divest its endowment from companies doing business in South Africa. I still remember the moment I heard that Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island prison—and the joy of knowing that struggles for justice can sometimes win.

I have a deep and abiding concern for social justice and I believe strongly that our government’s practices and law should reinforce and uphold our rights.

That is why I am fighting for good government—if you’re reading the papers these days, you know that New Yorkers need honest, responsible leadership now more than ever.

I’m starting by calling for reforms to our City’s redistricting process, which begins so late that it disadvantages voters and privileges incumbents, allowing them to sway elections.

Everyone should understand and care about redistricting because this process determines who will represent them in elected office.

Good government means that elected officials are accountable to their constituents.

That is why I oppose NYCHA’s in-fill program and have signed Paula Diamond-Rosen’s petition opposing the in-fill plan and asking New York City to stop charging NYCHA for police services. This is just a poor-tax -- a double tax on NYCHA residents who already do pay taxes. If elected, I will commit to help find ways to reduce costs and increase revenue in order to preserve our public housing—it’s the anchor of our community.

That is why, if elected, I will be a strong advocate of long-term tax reform at the State and City levels—looking at what corporations pay, what subsidies and incentives they receive, and what high-income earners and high-value property owners pay. I will push for City policies that continuously evaluate incentives for developers and business owners in order to make sure that there is some balance, some benefit for the public, and that we are not forgoing needed revenue.

The goal here is equity, because the needs of New Yorkers will not be met if politicians are unwilling to look at how we can finance those needs—all the while engaging in unneeded financial incentives to developers and wasteful, politically motivated tax refunds, such as the Governor’s idea for a $350 tax rebate to families that will cost taxpayers more than $1 billion over three years.

I have a strong background in our City budget, thanks to my work in State government as a fiscal monitor with oversight of New York City’s finances.  I believe that there are always ways to spend our money more efficiently and to cut waste. I also believe that we should not balance the budget solely by cutting essential services. Investing in public programs and goods is how we in this country can fight poverty and reduce inequality.

My passion for social justice infuses everything that I do, wherever I am. We can positively impact our communities in our everyday lives, and that is the sort of leader that I am.

On Community Board 12, as chair of the Housing and Human Services Committee, I facilitated the collaboration of Washington Heights’ three largest tenant organizations: Mirabal Sisters, Community Union and RENA in an effort to develop a northern Manhattan housing platform and tenants bill of rights, as part of the statewide effort at rent regulation reform. This effort was the first time these three organizations had ever collaborated.

Our six-month effort culminated in a rally of over 200 people calling for change and a reenergized commitment of northern Manhattan elected officials to tenants and reform. Our platform was endorsed by Community Board 12 and supported by our elected officials.

I also tried to refocus the committee on poverty, and how to better serve poor people in our existing programs. I drafted and the Community Board passed several resolutions calling for improvements to services for the homeless and to people seeking cash assistance. I also invited large citywide not-for-profits to brief the committee on poverty and social services and to suggest how we in northern Manhattan could be a part of the discussion for reform.

In April 2008, I authored tax equity resolution calling on the Governor and the Legislature to raise the personal income tax rate for the top five-percent of income earners and to substantially expand property tax relief for low and middle-income renters and residential property-owners by limiting the portion of household income that pays for property taxes. In 2009, the Governor and the Legislature agreed to a temporary income tax surcharge on high-income earners.

I tell you this not to give you a resume, but to give you a sense of who I am politically and what matters to me. Policymaking matters to me very much because I believe that it is how I as a Councilwoman will deliver to you.

I am asking you to take a chance and support someone new to electoral politics. Endorse me whether I run in District 7 or District 10, because I will make you my priority—not my potential political career. New Yorkers have had enough of politicians making deals for themselves and failing to pass needed reforms or meet with constituents. It’s time to elect new people who are not beholden to political bosses. I ask for your club’s endorsement, your support as volunteers, your financial contributions and most important, I ask for your vote on September 10, 2013.

Thanks for taking time to learn about me.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Pahaham 
Candidate for New York City Council District 7

People for Cheryl
PO Box 777
New York NY 10040

cheryl at cherylforcouncil.org
www.cherylforcouncil.org
646-547-6798
Facebook/People for Cheryl
Twitter @CherylPahaham

CONTRIBUTE!




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