April Linkups tonight:  Candidate Forum in Astoria, plus Upper West Side:

Queens Linkups will be consolidated into Astoria for a candidate forum. DFNYC is holding an endorsement vote in the the 36th Assembly District - voting beigns tonight!  If you would like to vote after tonight, you can download a ballot here at our website and mail it in by next Wed, April 14th.  All voting members of DFNYC (those who have attended 3 events in the past year) are eligible to vote.

Linkup-Forum in Astoria - 36th Assembly District:

DFNYC will hold a candidate forum for the Democratic primary in the 36th Assembly district in Queens. 

Where & When:  Wednesday, April 7th, from 7-8:30pm at the Greater Astoria Historical Society , Quinn Building, 35-20 Broadway, 4th Floor, Queens

Subway:  N/W to the Broadway stop (@31st St) and walk east.  Or take the R/G/V to the Steinway stop (@Broadway) and walk west.  For address-to-address directions for subway and bus, visit Hopstop.com. 

~Invited candidates, in alphabetical order (click on their name to go to their website:

Jeremiah Frei-Pearson (confirmed), Aravella Simotas (not confirmed).  We have invited all candidates that we know are running in the Democratic primary. If we missed anyone, please email us at info-at-dfnyc.org.

Background: The 36th district is being vacated by Assemblymember Mike Gianaris, as he is running for the State Senate seat, curently held by George Onorato, who is retiring.

Upper West Side - 7:00pm, The front room at The Parlour, 250 West 86th St. (between Broadway & West End), with hosts Sally Swisher & Bernadette Evangelist.

West Village -  After responses received by host Josh Silverstein, this Linkup is going to the candidate forum in Astoria, see above.  

Sunnyside, Queens – This Linkup will join the candidate forum in Astoria, see above.

Bayside, Queens – This Linkup will join the candidate forum in Astoria, see above. 

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn – This Linkup is cancelled this month. Please join Annette & Estelle next month.

March 20, 2010 Demonstrations on the 7th Anniversary of U.S. Occupation of Iraq
Rallies in Times Square and across the country protest the War in Iraq

On March 20, Granny Peace Brigade, CodePink, Grandmothers Against the War, Granny Peace Brigade, Military Families Speak Out, North Manhattan Neighbors for Peace & Justice, NYC War Resister's League, Veterans for Peace, Peace Action of NYS, West Side Peace Action, along with members of Chelsea Neighbors United to End the War gathered at the Times Square Recruiting Station  on the first day of the eighth year of the war on Iraq to demand an end to that war. 

At the same time, Iraq War protests and demonstrations took place across the United States in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Madison, Seattle, Tacoma and many other cities. There was a protest or demonstration in over 150 cities the week of March 20th. This video, forwarded by Peace, Justice & Environment Project (of which Democracy for NYC is a member organization), shows video and photos of events across the country.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85FX1rgaxQk

At this anniversary, 4,385 of our soldiers and over 104,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq. The peace movement is not dead.  We are working in groups and as individuals all across the country for an end to our wars. 

Here are some photos of the Times Square rally including Ragging Grannies, Veterans for Peace member Hugh R. Bruce, "enemy combatants," Councilmember Gale Brewer.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 is upon us... the much anticipated Special Election in Queens between Jose Peralta and Hiram Monseratte, two candidates that couldn't be more different. (See below for details, if you haven't heard them already.)

There are many ways to volunteer.  You can join me and my 9-month old son Quintus (pictured here with Assemblymember José Peralta) on election day from 6:30-9pm at the 74th Street/Broadway stop on the 7 train - we'll be reminding commuters to vote. 

Marriage Equality New York ("MENY") is also helping Peralta, who voted 3 times for marriage equality. (Monserrate voted against it.)  Join MENY to campaign: contact Jeff-at-meny.us or 516 670 7834 or  Ron-at-MENY.us (replace -at- with @) .

The 13th District is very easy to get to!  To help GOTV all day or any part of the day tomorrow, call José Peralta's campaign headquarters at 718-205-5855, or call Allie at the campaign at 908-370-2689.

See more photos of Saturday's rally at this link .

"Read more" below to learn more about the race and volunteer opportunities.