Meeting started at 6:45 pm
Candidates Interviewed
Guillermo Ali Perez – 71st Assembly District
Robert Kesten – 40th State Senate District
Peter Herckham – 40th State Senate District
Carmen de la Roza – 72nd Assembly District
John Liu – 11th State Senate District
Candidates Endorsed
11th State Senate District – John Liu (Unanimous)
29th Assembly District – Alicia L. Hyndman (Unanimous)
40th State Senate District – Tabled (61% to table, 39% opposed to tabling)
72nd Assembly District – No Endorsement (72% for no endorsement, 28% in favor of Carmen de la Roza)
Motion to Rescind Endorsement in Attorney General Race
After discussion from 4 speakers in favor of rescinding the endorsement of Letitia James and 4 speakers opposed to rescinding the endorsement a motion was made and seconded to rescind the endorsement. Paper ballets were distributed and counted.
64% of votes were in favor of rescinding the endorsement, 36% were opposed to rescinding the endorsement.
The motion required a 2/3rds vote (66%) to be approved and thus failed.
Discussion Items
City Councilmember Richard Torres discussed several issues including the need to lobby NYS to repeal vacancy decontrol, the required priority to prevent gang violence (following a recent death in the Bronx) and changes in Bronx politics
City Councilmember Helen Rosenthal discussed several issues including the need to increase staffing at the Special Victims Division of the NYPD
Hawk Newsome from Black Lives Matter (BLM) discussed the actions taken by BLM for the anniversary of the Charlottesville white supremacy march and violence. BLM marched from NYC to Washington DC with a message of Love and promoted their “Rejuvenation” project including donating food and assisting in rebuilding in various cities they stopped along their route from NYC to Washington DC. Newsom acknowledged the participation of the Jim Owles club and that Club President Allen Roskoff spoke on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial representing the club. He also encouraged Club members to have a presence on August 17th at 9:30 at 100 Centre Street, Part B to support him in his trial regarding a recent instance of police violence against him.
Christine Marinoni from the Cynthia Nixon for Governor Campaign (Club Endorsed Candidate) urged club members to be involved in Cynthia Nixon’s campaign. There was some discussion regarding the campaign’s difficulty communicating with to the club, as well as appreciation expressed for the candidate’s highlighting of Progressive issues.
Jenna Goldsobel from the Ross Barkan for 22nd State Senate District (Club Endorsed Candidate) urged club members to volunteer in their campaign.