Kim Moscaritolo and Ben Wetzler -- Club Members and District Leaders in the 76th Assembly District – offer the latest in their occasional series of reports on political happenings in our District.
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As 2017 draws to a close, we want to give you some important updates.
First, the slightly boring procedural stuff:
When we last updated you, the Democratic Party County Committee for New York County had just met and there was some controversy regarding a set of proposed rules changes intended to promote greater transparency in the operation of the County Committee. The committee voted to refer the proposed changes to the Rules Committee, which would report back to the County Committee in three month's time (as of yet, no date has been set for this meeting.)
Each Assembly district (there are 12 in Manhattan) was given one representative to the Rules Committee - the District Leaders in the 76th appointed Pierre Ratzki as our representative. Pierre is an attorney and an active member of the Four Freedoms Democratic Club and we're confident he will do a good job advocating for a more open and honest Democratic Party. These 12 members, plus the chair and co-chair of the committee, met on December 18th to discuss any and all proposed rules changes and make recommendations to the full county committee. The committee went over proposed rules changes and voted to reconvene in late January to discuss the proposals more fully.
Ben made a motion that was accepted that the Rules Committee make its proposals available online at least two weeks before that meeting so participants and the public have time to read and understand them. In addition to the changes previously proposed, we asked that the Rules Committee consider imposing restrictions on Democratic Clubs in Manhattan soliciting contributions from candidates for judgeships, on the grounds that judges should be neutral and apolitical.
The Rules Committee meetings are open to the public and you are encouraged to attend.
Now, for the less boring political stuff!
Our club actually had a pretty awesome year overall, despite a few disappointments. In November, our club's endorsed candidate for City Council District 4, Keith Powers, won the general election overwhelmingly! We also ran two very successful GOTV canvasses for New Jersey Governor and Westchester County Executive, and helped flip both seats blue!
This year we ran over 150 people for local county committee seats and had an incredibly successful divisional meeting with over 60 county committee members in attendance.
Most importantly, we've seen the incredible energy and enthusiasm from Democrats all over our district. Next year, one of our big goals is to channel all of that energy into flipping Congress. There are several nearby districts that could use our help, and we know that our members are ready to hit the streets to help Democrats win.
We want to thank all of you for your hard work and your dedication. Have a safe and happy holiday season, and let's get ready for a blue wave in 2018!
Democratically yours,
Kim and Ben
