I) Candidate Interviews (in order of interview)
Amanda Septimo (84th Assembly District)
Assemblymember Deborah Glick (66th Assembly District)
State Senator Jamaal Bailey (36th Assembly District)
Emelio Decaudin (District Leader, 37th Assembly District)
Nathalia Fernandez (80th Assembly District)
Roxanne Persaud (17th State Senate District)
Brandon Patterson (64th Assembly District)
Grace Lee (65th Assembly District)
Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou (65th Assembly District)
Karen Koslowitz (District Leader, 68th Assembly District)
II) Candidates Endorsed
President – Joseph Biden 71% Endorsed, No Endorsement 14%, Abstain 14%
17th State Senate District - No Endorsement 62%, Roxanne Persaud 15%, Abstain 23%
36th State Senator District – Jamaal Bailey Endorsed, unanimous
24th Assembly District – David I. Weprin Endorsed, unanimous
64th Assembly District – Brandon Patterson tabled
65th Assembly District – Yuh-Line Niou Endorsed, unanimous
66th Assembly District – No Endorsement 79%, Deborah Glick 7%, Abstain, 14%
80th Assembly District – Nathalia Fernandez Endorsed, unanimous
84th Assembly District – Amanda Septimo Endorsed, unanimous
District Leader, 37th Assembly District – Emilia Decaudin 93% Endorsed, 7% Abstain
District Leader, 68th Assembly District – Karen Koslowitz 93% Endorsed, 7% Abstain
III) Richard Torres (candidate, 15th Congressional District) – reported on the current state of the 15th District Congressional race. He indicated that the Governor’s recent action to mail ballots to all households along with the inability to do door to door/street campaigning during COVID has changed the dynamic of the race. He also indicated the likelihood that most votes will be cast before the primary date, moving up required campaigning. His major emphasis in the next few weeks is to increase name recognition and ensure Congressional district voters are aware of that Ruben Diaz Sr. is not his son (Ruben Diaz Jr.) and has views that are more conservative than the District.
IV) City Council Speaker Corey Johnson discussed the current state of the COVID crisis in NYC. He indicated that we are still a distance from being out of the crisis, citing the 263 deaths in New York yesterday. He indicated the city will need availability of testing, an active coordinated effort of “Disease Detectives,” a method for reporting that does not infringe of personal privacy and hotels/apartment for those who test positive (to avoid transmission to other household residents). He also discussed the racial disparity and injustice in the city that the virus has exposed – the disproportionate number of cases in minority communities, 70% of essential worker’s being African American women, and the arrests related to social distancing being primarily African American, as primary examples.
V. New Business – Motion to remove Rodneyse Persaud from the Jim Owls Liberal Democratic Club Governing Board, 85% to remove from the Board, 15% abstain. Motion to invite Josue Pierre to the next Board meeting to explain some reported troubling actions regarding removing names from petitions 67% in favor, 33 opposed