Jessica Lappin Answers to DFNYC 2013 Candidate Endorsement Questionnaire

Jessica Lappin, currently a NYC Councilmember in the 5th District covering the east side of Manhattan & Roosevelt Island, is running for Manhattan Borough President. JessicaLappin.com

1. Money in NYC Politics. Large donors, specifically real estate developers and landlords, have a huge amount of influence in NYC politics due to their campaign contributions. While NYC’s matching funds programs is seen as one of the most innovative public funding campaigns in the country, many DFNYC members feel that big money donors still have too much influence and candidates still spend too much time fundraising. Would you support a change to full public financing of campaigns, similar to the Clean Money Clean Elections programs in Arizona, Connecticut and Maine?

Yes, I would support full public financing of campaigns. I have always participated in the city's matching fund program and have been an advocate of reforming our current system.

2. Tenant Protection & Cost of Housing. Do you support rent stabilization and rent control laws? What will you do to crack down on landlords that break the law? Would you call on the state legislature to repeal vacancy decontrol and more generally, the Urstadt Law, so that New York City – and not Albany – can enact its own housing laws?

Yes, and I have consistently fought for stronger rent protections and more permanent affordable housing. I voted to repeal vacancy decontrol and the Urstadt law. I have also fought to protect tenants, co-sponsoring a law that makes tenant harassment illegal and hosting free legal clinics for low-income renters in the community.

3. Paid Sick Leave. There is currently a bill in the city council that would require companies in NYC with 5 or more employees to give 5 paid sick days per year to each employee (if they do not already). While many councilmembers support this, it has not been brought to a vote. Supporters feel this is much needed public health legislation that would only minimally raise labor costs, while opponents say that it would be an unfair financial burden to small business. Do you support the bill and will you actively work to get it passed? Sources: ~For: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2012/11/16/45152/myth-vs-fact-paid-sick-days/ ~Against: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/why_we_reject_sick_leave_bill_03pE50CZMFiHFhXzasDMLL

Yes, and I am the number two name on the legislation. I'm a working mom and I believe strongly that no one should have to choose between going to work and taking care of themselves or their families.

4. Fair Police Practices & Occupy Wall Street. The New York City Police Department has been highly criticized for its Stop & Frisk policy, which disproportionally affects racial minorities and poor and working class New Yorkers. The NYPD has also been criticized for its treatment of activists in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Do you support ending or modifying Stop & Frisk? If running for mayor, will you keep Ray Kelly or appoint a new police commissioner? Do you think Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD should have handled events in the OWS movement differently and what measures will you take to protect political demonstrations?

The New York City Police Department has helped make us the safest big city in America. However, I am concerned that hundreds of thousands of innocent New Yorkers are stopped each year in violation of their constitutional rights. That’s why I am co-sponsoring the Community Safety Act, a package of City Council legislation that would reform stop and frisk by protecting against racial profiling, ending unlawful searches, and creating the office of NYPD Inspector General. I also marched with the NAACP, labor leaders, and members of clergy last year to advocate for changes in this policy.

5. Mayoral Control of Education. Mayoral Control of NYC schools is set to expire in 2016, but the state legislature can renew it. If elected to city government, you will not directly vote on mayoral control, but you will have a ‘bully pulpit’ as renewal is discussed in the next 3 years. Do you support keeping Mayoral Control as is, letting it expire, or making changes, for example to the hearing process for controversial decisions? (Examples: Co-locations of multiple schools in one building, providing district school space to charter schools, phasing out schools that have been labeled as “failing” due to high dropout rates, low test scores, or other factors.)

I support renewing Mayoral Control with modifications. Parents need a greater voice in the system. The PEP, which includes a member appointed by the Borough Presidents, needs more teeth. And, as a Stuyvesant HS graduate and public school mom, my appointment to the PEP will be incredibly important to me personally. I’d like an educator or a parent and somebody who will give voice to those who are often shut out of the process.

6. Teacher Evaluation. A key area where the mayor has influence in public education is in the negotiation of a contract with NYC’s public school teachers. Please give your opinion on the following proposed ways to evaluate teachers for the purpose of tenure, salary and other job benefits: Improvement in student test scores, observations by other teachers, student surveys, whether the teacher has an advanced degree, a principal’s evaluation of a teacher. Should principals be allowed to do unannounced observations of teachers? Do you have any experience negotiating labor union contracts?

Test scores cannot be the only way to evaluate teachers. Observations, surveys, and other factors should be considered.

7. Co-location of charter schools. City officials do not decide how many charter schools can exist, or grant requests to be a charter school. However, the Department of Education - currently controlled by the Mayor - may decide to provide charter schools with space, usually by "co-location" with district public schools. While more than half of NYC schools (not just charters) are co-located, it is a controversial topic when a charter school is involved. Critics argue that cash-strapped district schools should not be forced to share resources with charter schools and that co-location creates a morale problem when students and parents see the contrast. Co-location advocates argue that charter schools are public schools and should have an equal right to publicly owned resources such as buildings, charter schools do not receive funding for space and therefore operate at a severe financial disadvantage if they have to find private space, and that differences between co-located schools result from decisions the principals make about how to spend their per-pupil funding. Do you support the DOE giving public school space to charter schools? Sources: ~ Against - funding and space arguments: http://www.classsizematters.org/our-lawsuit-vs-the-doe-regarding-charter-co-locations/ ~In Favor: Funding: http://www.nyccharterschools.org/resources/school-funding-comparisons-nyc-independent-budget-office-ibo-2010-11 Space (pdf): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/87134745/media/nyccsc_colocation.pdf

I have been opposed to school closings and co-locations in the past.

8. The City Wage Tax. New York City’s budget depends in large part on the city wage tax, which is only paid by residents, not everyone who works in NYC. Would you call on the state legislature to allow NYC to collect the tax from people from the suburbs who work in NYC and benefit from our services (police, fire, etc.)? Would you support efforts to collect the tax from people who actually live in New York City but use a second home (a loophole not available to middle class New Yorkers with just one home) to avoid the city wage tax? If these efforts work, would you be willing to reduce the city wage tax so that workers would have more take home pay, and there would be less incentive for people to move to the suburbs, reducing our tax base?

I support the commuter tax, and I definitely support a more progressive taxation system at the city, state, and federal level. Certainly, citizens shouldn't be able to exploit loopholes to avoid the city wage tax.

9. Other Taxes. Do you support progressive taxation? Do you support Governor Cuomo’s approach to the marginal tax rate on high incomes? What is your opinion on the current property tax in NYC? Would you support a federal financial transaction tax to either raise revenue, reduce the practice of high frequency trading, or both?

Yes, I support progressive taxation.

10. Poverty & the Social Safety Net. According to a 2012 report by the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, many struggling New Yorkers are eligible for welfare, but have not been able to obtain it due to onerous application requirements, and the excessive and arbitrary use of “sanctions” by the City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA). These obstacles have caused very little increase in welfare cases during the recent recession, as contrasted with large increases in Food Stamps and Medicaid. Would you change HRA to make it easier for eligible families to obtain cash assistance, connect them to jobs or meaningful job training, and reform the improper use of sanctions? How would you manage New York City's social safety net programs to ensure that people get the help they need, while at the same time preventing fraud? Report: http:/www.fpwa.org/cgi-bin/iowa/policy/article/218.html

I think New York needs to stop criminalizing poverty. It should be our goal to help families and individuals get the help they need, not to make seeking assistance a full-time job.

11. Homelessness. When Mayor Bloomberg first ran, he promised to introduce policies to drastically reduce the numbers of people who are homeless in our city. But during the twelve years of his administration, the numbers of homeless have increased dramatically each year. This is in addition to the approximately 50,000 people sleeping in shelters on an average night, according to a recent report by the Coalition for the Homeless. What would you do to deal with this sad situation? Sources: http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/state-of-the-homeless-2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/nyregion/20homeless.html

I support giving vouchers to homeless New Yorkers and others to enable them to find permanent affordable housing. And we need to address the root causes of homelessness, including mental health and substance abuse issues.

12. Hurricane Sandy & Environmental Protection. The devastating impact that Hurricane Sandy had on New York City poses short term and long term challenges: immediate support for those who lost their homes and businesses, and climate change, respectively. What measures do you support for helping Sandy recovery efforts, as well as energy conservation and reducing the carbon footprint of New York City? What is your position on hydraulic fracturing and the Spectra pipeline?

We are already having discussions about how and where to rebuild. Those will continue next year. As BP, I intend to be very actively involved and focused on making sure we recover fully and plan for the future, including looking at zoning changes, nursing home evacuation plans, and registries for homebound and vulnerable New Yorkers. I am opposed to hydraulic fracturing and have major concerns about the Spectra pipeline.

13. Gun Control. While DFNYC members have long supported gun control, the December 14th shooting in Newtown, Connecticut seems to have changed the debate on the national level. Do you support the proposals President Obama made to (a) renew and fix the assault weapons ban, (b) ban high capacity magazines (limit the number of bullets that can be shot before reloading), and (c) improve the background check system? Please indicate any other methods you would support to reduce gun violence, including how you would implement them, for example: gun buy-back programs, training programs for gun owners, improved access to mental health care, and involving the business community in gun safety.

Yes, I absolutely support the President's proposals and I also support intervention programs in hospitals and schools to help stem the tide of handgun violence in our city.

14. Choice & Marriage Equality. Please briefly state your position on the following three issues: marriage equality for gays & lesbians, a woman's right to choose, and access to birth control. (25 words or less)

I support marriage equality, a women's right to choose (and wrote and passed landmark legislation regulating crisis pregnancy centers) and access to birth control.

~ Jessica Lappin, currently a NYC Councilmember, running for Manhattan Borough President. JessicaLappin.com

To return to the page listing all the candidates with links to their answers, click here.

NYC Council District 35 - Brooklyn - North Central

 

NYC Council District 35 is an open seat this year, as incumbent Letitia "Tish" James is running for Public Advocate.

Neighborhoods: Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, parts of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant

Links to Candidates' Websites & Other Info:  DecideNYC.com's CD 35 Page

Candidates: (Big thanks to Decide NYC!)

Listed in alphabetical order by last name:

Olaniki Alabi

Laurie Cumbo

Ede Fox

Jesse Hamilton

Jelani Mashariki

Helen Rosenthal Answers to DFNYC 2013 Candidate Endorsement Questionnaire

 

Helen Rosenthal is running for NYC Council in the 6th District, Upper West Side of Manhattan. www.HelenRosenthal.com.

1. Money in NYC Politics. Large donors, specifically real estate developers and landlords, have a huge amount of influence in NYC politics due to their campaign contributions. While NYC’s matching funds programs is seen as one of the most innovative public funding campaigns in the country, many DFNYC members feel that big money donors still have too much influence and candidates still spend too much time fundraising. Would you support a change to full public financing of campaigns, similar to the Clean Money Clean Elections programs in Arizona, Connecticut and Maine?

I’ve long spoken out against the influence of big money in NYC politics, publishing a piece in The Nation in October 2009 which called for a major-league baseball style “luxury tax” to level the playing field when wealthy candidates (or their supporters) look to evade campaign finance limitations. The subsequent rise of SuperPACs makes full public financing of campaigns both timely and urgent; reforms modeled on Clean Money Clean Elections programs have my full support – particularly when they address the involvement of “independent” expenditure committees, which threaten to distort the democratic process. To the extent Clean Money Clean Elections reform cannot muster a Council majority, I propose a simple, interim step which would build on NYC’s existing system: municipal candidates who gather sufficient signatures to make the ballot will receive a public “match” which enables them reach existing spending limits (i.e., $168,000 for a Council race). This simple step would more directly tie campaign funding to in-district voter support. Believing that the campaign a candidate runs offers insights into the kind of policies they will advocate in office, we have welcomed small, in-district donations – I’m pleased to report that, as of the latest (March 2013) public filings, our campaign leads all 6th District candidates in both in-district donors, and in-district donors making contributions less than $100. If elected, I’ll work actively to eliminate not only member “bonuses” (aka “lulus”) – awarded at the discretion of Council leadership – but also curb income allowed from outside business activities. (Please cut and paste http://www.thenation.com/article/big-kids-play-corked-bats)

2. Tenant Protection & Cost of Housing. Do you support rent stabilization and rent control laws? What will you do to crack down on landlords that break the law? Would you call on the state legislature to repeal vacancy decontrol and more generally, the Urstadt Law, so that New York City – and not Albany – can enact its own housing laws?

During my tenure as Chair of Community Board 7, I led two in-district projects which helped protect local residents from, respectively, purely profit driven real-estate practices and unregulated market forces. One involved formulating, with residents of Trinity House, a tenant-led buyout plan – which was embraced by building tenants and helped block a private equity-led plan which would have caused many tenants to lose their apartments. (Please cut and paste: http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/92170497/DinaHeisler.m4v) Another involved helping residents of Stern Housing, whose Mitchell-Lama status was terminated, successfully find new affordable housing units on the UWS. Consistent with my record as Community Board Chair, I’ll vigorously support rent stabilization and rent control laws, and work to overturn vacancy deregulation. Central to my campaign are policies to reduce income inequality and increase community empowerment – which is why repeal of the Urstadt Law (which thwarts both) would be so central to my work as a Councilwoman. Addressing Urstadt is so urgent that it cannot await a Democratic State Senate or campaign finance reform; rather, we must adopt the legislative strategy of targeting persuadable members and using the bully pulpit -- which Governor Cuomo successfully used in bringing marriage equality to NYS - to catalyze repeal of Urstadt. Further, we should expand upon the excellent work of UWS Councilwoman Gale Brewer in initiating monthly housing clinics where attorneys meet with district residents to provide pro-bono legal assistance in eviction and other tenant/landlord disputes. I advocate making these sessions continuous, and support using base-lined city funds for this purpose.

3. Paid Sick Leave. There is currently a bill in the city council that would require companies in NYC with 5 or more employees to give 5 paid sick days per year to each employee (if they do not already). While many councilmembers support this, it has not been brought to a vote. Supporters feel this is much needed public health legislation that would only minimally raise labor costs, while opponents say that it would be an unfair financial burden to small business. Do you support the bill and will you actively work to get it passed? Sources: ~For: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2012/11/16/45152/myth-vs-fact-paid-sick-days/ ~Against: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/why_we_reject_sick_leave_bill_03pE50CZMFiHFhXzasDMLL

My understanding of and active support for Paid Sick Leave legislation is rooted in my commitment to address income inequality; my education – a Masters in Public Health; and my work at City Hall, helping manage the City’s health care budget under three mayors. A reflection of my commitment on this issue: I’ve signed on to Gloria Steinem’s public letter calling for paid sick days – and am pleased that Gloria Steinem has endorsed my campaign for the 6th District Council seat. Cities such as Washington, DC and San Francisco that have implemented a minimum number of paid sick days have reported the program’s wide success: employee loyalty and productivity have increased significantly, while employees are only taking an average of 3 to 9 paid sick days per year. We recognize the importance of small businesses to the economic vitality of NYC and job creation in the five boroughs. People – their talents and loyalties – are critical to the success of any business, especially small and growing ones. So it’s important that people considering work and career choices in the City do not turn away from small businesses because they do not afford certain health care protections and benefits found only with large employers. NYC has also, historically, drawn people from all over the country (and world) to pursue their careers here. We want to remain competitive, nationally and globally, with other small business centers who can offer to attractive benefits to their employees.

4. Fair Police Practices & Occupy Wall Street. The New York City Police Department has been highly criticized for its Stop & Frisk policy, which disproportionally affects racial minorities and poor and working class New Yorkers. The NYPD has also been criticized for its treatment of activists in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Do you support ending or modifying Stop & Frisk? If running for mayor, will you keep Ray Kelly or appoint a new police commissioner? Do you think Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD should have handled events in the OWS movement differently and what measures will you take to protect political demonstrations?

As we live in an age where our city (and country) is becoming more diverse, and where the income gap is widening, it’s especially important that we adopt policing and public safety strategies that are most like to affect all people equally, and do not disproportionally target racial minorities and the economically disadvantaged. Further, the sense of energy and renewal which so characterizes NYC’s history and culture has been substantially fueled by immigrants – we must be seen as a city which continues to welcome new and different arrivals on the most basic level. For these reasons, among others, I support ending the current NYPD’s “Stop and Frisk” policy—800,000 are too many. Appropriately targeted “Stop and Frisk” would likely yield about 100,000 encounters. As for OWS: our First Amendment rights are seldom more important than when they involve speaking out against wide-spread inequities, and advocate reforms of an established economic and political order. In this context, I find the NYPD actions towards the OWS protests excessive, and would push for clearer – and more restrained – guidelines in protecting (as compared to curbing) free, political speech. Commissioner Kelly has headed the NYPD for more than 13 years, including the last 11 consecutively. Most large organizations benefit from new leadership after an extended period; and I believe both the NYPD and the City would benefit from both new leadership as well as new policies.

5. Mayoral Control of Education. Mayoral Control of NYC schools is set to expire in 2016, but the state legislature can renew it. If elected to city government, you will not directly vote on mayoral control, but you will have a ‘bully pulpit’ as renewal is discussed in the next 3 years. Do you support keeping Mayoral Control as is, letting it expire, or making changes, for example to the hearing process for controversial decisions? (Examples: Co-locations of multiple schools in one building, providing district school space to charter schools, phasing out schools that have been labeled as “failing” due to high dropout rates, low test scores, or other factors.)

“Mayoral Control,” in its current form, is more like “Mayoral Dictatorship.” It can only be renewed if modified to truly include input from parents, teachers, and principals who, under Mayor Bloomberg, have no voice. As a member and then Chair of Community Board 7, I worked with a team to bring two new public schools to our district—in the face of centralized policies based upon faulty data. This experience causes me to advocate for changes that would require DOE and Mayoral administrative policies to be based upon clear and transparent data – which could then be fact-checked and reconciled at the community level. Statutory requirements for a “hearing” do not guarantee a “fair” one, and legislative efforts that increase community involvement in actual decision-making (as compared to a simple airing of differences) are critical. I’m opposed to charter co-locations. On the UWS, providing district school space to charter schools has consistently been a losing proposition for public schools. Furthermore, a reflexive call to close schools deemed to be “failing” by “one size fits all” metrics is a flawed policy. “Failing” schools often exist in neighborhoods with oppressive social realities that drive attendance and drop-out rates to levels outside the school’s control—furthermore, the schools are often one of the few institutions holding a community together. As a philosophical matter, “top down” decision making – whether from Albany or City Hall – must give way to more “bottom up” input and control.

6. Teacher Evaluation. A key area where the mayor has influence in public education is in the negotiation of a contract with NYC’s public school teachers. Please give your opinion on the following proposed ways to evaluate teachers for the purpose of tenure, salary and other job benefits: Improvement in student test scores, observations by other teachers, student surveys, whether the teacher has an advanced degree, a principal’s evaluation of a teacher. Should principals be allowed to do unannounced observations of teachers? Do you have any experience negotiating labor union contracts?

My mother was a college professor (University of Michigan), so the question of teacher evaluations is one that I’ve thought about for years and strikes a personal chord. In virtually every field of endeavor, “peer review” is considered an invaluable yard-stick in measuring actual performance. Further, the DOE must invest in its teachers and principals with mentors and “master teachers.” Peer and principal evaluations should be central to teacher evaluations. And, teachers and principals should always have access to “due process.” Our own experience tells us that student and parent input can provide vital input to core questions – does a teacher inspire a love of learning, and actually get the material across? – And should therefore carry meaningful weight. In contrast, a focus on test scores creates overpowering incentives to “teach to the test” – and thus under-prepares students for critical thinking, the workplace, and for life in general. An over-riding, joint-objective to mayoral/UFT negotiations should be to reduce class size and teacher-student ratios: smaller class sizes can help teachers nurture students, many of who will be tomorrow’s leaders, and help struggling students “run with the pack” and avoid falling helplessly behind. To a greater extent, the tone of the mayor’s negotiating posture should reflect the status and importance of our teachers and principals as “every day, first responders” to the needs of our children’s education.

7. Co-location of charter schools. City officials do not decide how many charter schools can exist, or grant requests to be a charter school. However, the Department of Education - currently controlled by the Mayor - may decide to provide charter schools with space, usually by "co-location" with district public schools. While more than half of NYC schools (not just charters) are co-located, it is a controversial topic when a charter school is involved. Critics argue that cash-strapped district schools should not be forced to share resources with charter schools and that co-location creates a morale problem when students and parents see the contrast. Co-location advocates argue that charter schools are public schools and should have an equal right to publicly owned resources such as buildings, charter schools do not receive funding for space and therefore operate at a severe financial disadvantage if they have to find private space, and that differences between co-located schools result from decisions the principals make about how to spend their per-pupil funding. Do you support the DOE giving public school space to charter schools? Sources: ~ Against - funding and space arguments: http://www.classsizematters.org/our-lawsuit-vs-the-doe-regarding-charter-co-locations/ ~In Favor: Funding: http://www.nyccharterschools.org/resources/school-funding-comparisons-nyc-independent-budget-office-ibo-2010-11 Space (pdf): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/87134745/media/nyccsc_colocation.pdf

As a general and philosophical matter, the government should not pursue policies that magnify inequalities. To this end, I advocate for a ban on school closings and the co-location of charter schools in public schools. City government should take all reasonable steps to avoid morale problems in an environment where inequality is substantial and increasing. It’s one thing to ask people to accept large differences; quite another stare directly at them on a daily basis, with the government’s thumb on the scale accentuating these differences. The “Harlem Success Academies” in District 3 schools (particularly PS 242) have led to a two-tiered system of public education where vulnerable families are at further disadvantage. Placing “Upper West Success, K-2” in the Brandeis High School complex resulted in overcrowding the co-located high schools.

8. The City Wage Tax. New York City’s budget depends in large part on the city wage tax, which is only paid by residents, not everyone who works in NYC. Would you call on the state legislature to allow NYC to collect the tax from people from the suburbs who work in NYC and benefit from our services (police, fire, etc.)? Would you support efforts to collect the tax from people who actually live in New York City but use a second home (a loophole not available to middle class New Yorkers with just one home) to avoid the city wage tax? If these efforts work, would you be willing to reduce the city wage tax so that workers would have more take home pay, and there would be less incentive for people to move to the suburbs, reducing our tax base?

The philosophy behind the City’s tax objectives should be to tax all those who earn their livelihood and accrue other benefits from the City, based upon their ability to pay. This leads to my support for restoration of the “commuter tax”. We should recognize the evolution in public attitudes towards tax fairness, which became evident during last year’s elections and subsequent tax changes at the federal level, and use this opportunity to energetically pursue a commuter tax early in 2014. Another tax policy objective should be to close loopholes and discourage “gaming” the system, especially as the availability of these strategies tends to magnify income and wealth disparities, and introduces “morale problems.” To this end, tax-avoidance strategies involving “phantom” primary residences should be targeted and subject to heightened enforcement. Reductions in the city’s wage tax rate should be pursued with an ultimate goal of eliminating these taxes for the working poor.

9. Other Taxes. Do you support progressive taxation? Do you support Governor Cuomo’s approach to the marginal tax rate on high incomes? What is your opinion on the current property tax in NYC? Would you support a federal financial transaction tax to either raise revenue, reduce the practice of high frequency trading, or both?

I endorse efforts to introduce further progressivity to the tax code, applaud Governor Cuomo’s decision to extend the high-income tax “surcharge”, and support legislation to make this surcharge permanent. Further, the much lower tax rates associated with capital gains income (overwhelmingly received by wealthy individuals) should be increased to match tax rates associated with “earned income”. Even during the second Reagan Administration, Congress successfully moved to equalize income rates between capital gains and earned income, and a return to this approach is much needed today. In this spirit, the “carried interest” tax loophole which currently allows private equity managers to pay a 15% rate - as compared to a top rate of 36.9% - should be closed. NYC’s property taxes should be reformed with three goals in mind: seniors should not be forced to sell and move from residences where they lived their whole lives due to increased property tax rates; taxes on condos and co-ops should be equal to those on family homes of similar value; and owner-occupied properties should be taxed at a rate lower that those owned for investment purposes. Financial transaction taxes should be considered on “short sales”, and on margin transactions - where stock is bought or sold with borrowed money. When considering taxes on high frequency trading, one should be mindful that a current, higher tax on “short-term” (as opposed to “long-term”) capital gains exists – so that taxation of high frequency trading could be seen as a logical extension of this concept.

10. Poverty & the Social Safety Net. According to a 2012 report by the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, many struggling New Yorkers are eligible for welfare, but have not been able to obtain it due to onerous application requirements, and the excessive and arbitrary use of “sanctions” by the City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA). These obstacles have caused very little increase in welfare cases during the recent recession, as contrasted with large increases in Food Stamps and Medicaid. Would you change HRA to make it easier for eligible families to obtain cash assistance, connect them to jobs or meaningful job training, and reform the improper use of sanctions? How would you manage New York City's social safety net programs to ensure that people get the help they need, while at the same time preventing fraud? Report: http:/www.fpwa.org/cgi-bin/iowa/policy/article/218.html

My work as Co-Chair of ParentJobNet – a not-for-profit designed to help public school parents find jobs – has given me a window on the cost-effectiveness of job networking and training initiatives. Often, struggling New Yorkers are synonymous with single-parent households (mostly female); or those where both parents must work to support their families at any meaningful level. For economic opportunities to align with family and parental responsibilities, jobs must exist in realistic proximity to home. That’s why I support local job training and networking initiatives developed at the neighborhood level, in connection with local schools and Community Boards, so that parents can find jobs that enable them to support their families through both their work and by their presence – and not be forced to choose between work and home. Moreover, job training should focus on building skills in demand by the marketplace – like computer and Excel-based training; nursing and home health care. In part because the incidence of fraud is so low, in part because the economic need is so apparent, the entire mind-set behind the HRA cash assistance application process needs to change: the “burden of proof “should tilt from obviously struggling New Yorkers needing to “prove” eligibility, to a presumption that needy New Yorkers deserve some form of cash assistance.

11. Homelessness. When Mayor Bloomberg first ran, he promised to introduce policies to drastically reduce the numbers of people who are homeless in our city. But during the twelve years of his administration, the numbers of homeless have increased dramatically each year. This is in addition to the approximately 50,000 people sleeping in shelters on an average night, according to a recent report by the Coalition for the Homeless. What would you do to deal with this sad situation? Sources: http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/state-of-the-homeless-2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/nyregion/20homeless.html

The roots of the increase in NYC homeless are primarily: increased joblessness; the low wages paid to many unskilled workers who do have jobs; and a decline in affordable housing. The City must build more permanent affordable housing as well as requiring new residential development projects to incorporate meaningful numbers of affordable housing units (50%, 30%, 20%). As a City Councilwoman, I would re-introduce a living wage law – which calls for a New York City minimum wage of $11.50, indexed to inflation. Further, my work in the Dinkins Administration in establishing the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) – which brought primary health care facilities to low-income neighborhoods – suggests a way for private/public partnerships to establish sustainable, well-paying jobs while providing vital services to the needy. I propose rolling out the PCDC “template” on a systematic, citywide basis – modeled after the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration. By focusing the efforts of a New York City-WPA on industries like health care, media and technology – in which the City maintains a critical mass of technical knowledge and comparative advantage – we can lessen our economic dependence on the volatile industries of finance and real estate. In combination, these three measures can help bolster the city’s economic and wage base, generating increased resources to pay for the social services needed to address homelessness resulting from mental and physical health issues.

12. Hurricane Sandy & Environmental Protection. The devastating impact that Hurricane Sandy had on New York City poses short term and long term challenges: immediate support for those who lost their homes and businesses, and climate change, respectively. What measures do you support for helping Sandy recovery efforts, as well as energy conservation and reducing the carbon footprint of New York City? What is your position on hydraulic fracturing and the Spectra pipeline?

I advocate a combination of large-scale public works and tax incentives to address the challenges posed by the impact of Hurricane Sandy. If elected, I’d seek to join the Progressive Caucus, and as such support their Sandy-related rebuilding proposals – creating skilled, blue collar jobs aimed at producing an environmentally friendly “green zone” encompassing the storm effected areas. But public works alone, even on the WPA-model envisioned, would be insufficient. I further advocate a one-year, city “tax holiday” for individuals and business owners, for up to their first $100,000 in income; additionally, a one-year holiday on city sales taxes – for purchases up to $100 - on items sold by businesses in storm effected areas. I oppose hydraulic fracturing and the Spectra pipeline. My campaign hosted a "Food and Fracking" event to discuss the potential impact of fracking on our state's food and water supplies. To help reduce the city’s carbon footprint, I propose repealing the 8% New York City Parking Tax exemption for non-hybrid vehicles; and increasing the Parking Tax – by 10% over three years – on non-hybrid vehicles used for commercial purposes. I further advocate the aggressive expansion of bike lanes throughout the five boroughs.

13. Gun Control. While DFNYC members have long supported gun control, the December 14th shooting in Newtown, Connecticut seems to have changed the debate on the national level. Do you support the proposals President Obama made to (a) renew and fix the assault weapons ban, (b) ban high capacity magazines (limit the number of bullets that can be shot before reloading), and (c) improve the background check system? Please indicate any other methods you would support to reduce gun violence, including how you would implement them, for example: gun buy-back programs, training programs for gun owners, improved access to mental health care, and involving the business community in gun safety.

I’m pleased that my campaign has been endorsed by 6th District resident and filmmaker Michael Moore – whose documentary “Bowling for Columbine” shined an early and vivid spotlight on excessive trafficking in guns. In collaboration with New Yorkers against Gun Violence, I led three rallies in Times Square – in response to the Virginia Tech massacre – to remove guns from our city’s streets. I completely embrace President Obama’s proposals to renew and fix the assault weapons ban; to ban high capacity magazines; and improve the background check system. I’d further support licensing as a requirement for gun ownership; continuous gun buyback programs; expanded access to mental health care; and dramatically increased penalties for crimes involving guns and unlicensed gun possession. Fingerprint-based trigger locks, now a common-place security mechanism to prevent unauthorized access to many computer networks, should become “standard equipment” in the way airbags are now mandatory in automotive vehicles. Finally, a steep sales tax should be imposed on the sale of firearms – in part to finance education and mental health programs, but also in part to explicitly discourage stockpiling of weapons, which vastly complicates keeping track of and control of lethal weapons.

 

14. Choice & Marriage Equality. Please briefly state your position on the following three issues: marriage equality for gays & lesbians, a woman's right to choose, and access to birth control. (25 words or less)

I support full marriage equality for LBGT individuals; am completely pro-choice, and support access to birth control (and abortion), including Plan B, for women of all ages.

~ Helen Rosenthal, candidate for NYC Council, 6th District, UWS of Manhattan: http://www.helenrosenthal.com

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Robert Jackson Answers to DFNYC 2013 Candidate Endorsement Questionnaire

Robert Jackson, currently a NYC Council member from the 7th District (Northern Manhattan) is running for Manhattan Borough President.  http://jackson2013.com/

1. Money in NYC Politics. Large donors, specifically real estate developers and landlords, have a huge amount of influence in NYC politics due to their campaign contributions. While NYC’s matching funds programs is seen as one of the most innovative public funding campaigns in the country, many DFNYC members feel that big money donors still have too much influence and candidates still spend too much time fundraising. Would you support a change to full public financing of campaigns, similar to the Clean Money Clean Elections programs in Arizona, Connecticut and Maine?

I support all efforts to take money out of politics. My campaign is fueled by small donors, but thanks to the city’s campaign finance program with matching funds and a strict spending cap, I will have the same amount to spend as my opponents who represent much wealthier areas than I represent. While modifications can be made in the city’s system, I believe our efforts are better utilized working to reform campaign finance on the state level. With Governor Cuomo and Organizing for Action’s support, we now have a real opportunity to change the state system and we must not pass it up. Right now, the people’s voice in state government is losing out to the special interests. We need public financing and more transparency. Working together, we can change this and that’s what I’m fighting to do.

2. Tenant Protection & Cost of Housing. Do you support rent stabilization and rent control laws? What will you do to crack down on landlords that break the law? Would you call on the state legislature to repeal vacancy decontrol and more generally, the Urstadt Law, so that New York City – and not Albany – can enact its own housing laws?

Manhattan is big enough for all of us. We must preserve and create more affordable housing. We must repeal the Urstadt Law so that New York City can enact housing laws – and we will only get this done if we have real campaign finance reform on the state level. But there is also more we can do right now ourselves. We must give tenants more information and better support and protections when they are mistreated or displaced by greedy landlords. We must better survey vacant housing and put it to use as affordable housing and we must make greater use of inclusionary zoning to create more permanent affordable housing. As a City Councilman I have worked to protect tenants and promoted innovative affordable housing projects like the Sugar Hill development. We need more of these partnerships citywide and a real commitment to maintaining the affordability of this borough.

3. Paid Sick Leave. There is currently a bill in the city council that would require companies in NYC with 5 or more employees to give 5 paid sick days per year to each employee (if they do not already). While many council members support this, it has not been brought to a vote. Supporters feel this is much needed public health legislation that would only minimally raise labor costs, while opponents say that it would be an unfair financial burden to small business. Do you support the bill and will you actively work to get it passed? Sources: ~For: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2012/11/16/45152/myth-vs-fact-paid-sick-days/ ~Against: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/why_we_reject_sick_leave_bill_03pE50CZMFiHFhXzasDMLL

From day one, I have been a supporter of paid sick leave legislation and support the compromise legislation reached last week. It is important common sense legislation that is good for families, good for business and good for the city. To now reach the point we have an agreement and a bill to benefit one million workers is a credit to the grassroots movement that kept the pressure on and never gave up. I am proud to be part of this grassroots movement and gratified that it looks like we will pass this legislation.

4. Fair Police Practices & Occupy Wall Street. The New York City Police Department has been highly criticized for its Stop & Frisk policy, which disproportionally affects racial minorities and poor and working class New Yorkers. The NYPD has also been criticized for its treatment of activists in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Do you support ending or modifying Stop & Frisk? If running for mayor, will you keep Ray Kelly or appoint a new police commissioner? Do you think Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD should have handled events in the OWS movement differently and what measures will you take to protect political demonstrations?

As it is employed now, the NYPD’s stop and frisk policy raises serious concerns about illegal stops and racial profiling. As Chair of the Council Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, I’ve taken the lead advocating an end to this practice that the Department’s own numbers show that hundreds of thousands of law abiding New Yorkers every year are being stopped, and the vast majority are black and Latino. To successfully fight crime and guns, we need to build trust and meaningful partnership between the community and the police. These racial stops prevent this from happening and must be ended. However, done without racial profiling, proper oversight and limited in number, stop and frisk can be part of an anti-crime program. In addition, I believe it is time for a new police commissioner and an Inspector General to help restore trust, promote efficiency and ultimately improve safety. No doubt, OWS should have been handled differently.

5. Mayoral Control of Education. Mayoral Control of NYC schools is set to expire in 2016, but the state legislature can renew it. If elected to city government, you will not directly vote on mayoral control, but you will have a ‘bully pulpit’ as renewal is discussed in the next 3 years. Do you support keeping Mayoral Control as is, letting it expire, or making changes, for example to the hearing process for controversial decisions? (Examples: Co-locations of multiple schools in one building, providing district school space to charter schools, phasing out schools that have been labeled as “failing” due to high dropout rates, low test scores, or other factors.)

Under Mayoral Control now, parents, teachers and students are shut out of the decision making process and it is more a “do as we say [not as we do]” attitude and system. We need a governance system, that respects the people directly impacted and all parties involved are stakeholders in shaping important education decisions. And our children need a Chancellor with significant and extensive educational experience like is required in the State Charter and a fundamental understanding of what goes on in the classroom. Unfortunately, choices like Cathie Black without this experience have been given waivers to the detriment of our school children. The Chancellorship needs to be the premier advocate for NYC public school students. I sponsored the Council resolution to put a moratorium on co-locations and school closings.

6. Teacher Evaluation. A key area where the mayor has influence in public education is in the negotiation of a contract with NYC’s public school teachers. Please give your opinion on the following proposed ways to evaluate teachers for the purpose of tenure, salary and other job benefits: Improvement in student test scores, observations by other teachers, student surveys, whether the teacher has an advanced degree, a principal’s evaluation of a teacher. Should principals be allowed to do unannounced observations of teachers? Do you have any experience negotiating labor union contracts?

Having worked for a union, represented union workers, taught a University class in labor and government and served as a City Council leader, I have extensive experience in union relations and contracts. While all of those strategies can play a role in evaluations, the goal of evaluations should to help teachers improve and students learn. Through this process, teachers can help teachers to better their skills and learn new methods. Creating this kind of mentoring program will do the most to benefit our children, and that must always be our objective.

7. Co-location of charter schools. City officials do not decide how many charter schools can exist, or grant requests to be a charter school. However, the Department of Education - currently controlled by the Mayor - may decide to provide charter schools with space, usually by "co-location" with district public schools. While more than half of NYC schools (not just charters) are co-located, it is a controversial topic when a charter school is involved. Critics argue that cash-strapped district schools should not be forced to share resources with charter schools and that co-location creates a morale problem when students and parents see the contrast. Co-location advocates argue that charter schools are public schools and should have an equal right to publicly owned resources such as buildings, charter schools do not receive funding for space and therefore operate at a severe financial disadvantage if they have to find private space, and that differences between co-located schools result from decisions the principals make about how to spend their per-pupil funding. Do you support the DOE giving public school space to charter schools? Sources: ~ Against - funding and space arguments: http://www.classsizematters.org/our-lawsuit-vs-the-doe-regarding-charter-co-locations/ ~In Favor: Funding: http://www.nyccharterschools.org/resources/school-funding-comparisons-nyc-independent-budget-office-ibo-2010-11 Space (pdf): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/87134745/media/nyccsc_colocation.pdf

I sponsored the City Council Resolution to put a moratorium on school closings and charter school co-locations. While these co-locations can work, we must first change the way the DOE is now doing them. To be successful, they need a high level of community and parent involvement. Care must be given to the use of shared space like cafeterias, gym, art rooms, etc. In addition, the schools must be compatible and we must avoid creating situations with haves and have nots in the same building. We must return the focus to every child in every school getting an excellent education, rather than a special few.

8. The City Wage Tax. New York City’s budget depends in large part on the city wage tax, which is only paid by residents, not everyone who works in NYC. Would you call on the state legislature to allow NYC to collect the tax from people from the suburbs who work in NYC and benefit from our services (police, fire, etc.)? Would you support efforts to collect the tax from people who actually live in New York City but use a second home (a loophole not available to middle class New Yorkers with just one home) to avoid the city wage tax? If these efforts work, would you be willing to reduce the city wage tax so that workers would have more take home pay, and there would be less incentive for people to move to the suburbs, reducing our tax base?

Yes, I support the state legislature allowing NYC to collect the tax from people from the suburbs who work in NYC and benefit from our services. The commuter tax should never have been removed and it is only fair that it be reinstated. Given how much more we as city residents pay to the state compared to what we get back, a major campaign should be organized to make this happen. We also need greater enforcement on those high earners who seek to cheat the system.

9. Other Taxes. Do you support progressive taxation? Do you support Governor Cuomo’s approach to the marginal tax rate on high incomes? What is your opinion on the current property tax in NYC? Would you support a federal financial transaction tax to either raise revenue, reduce the practice of high frequency trading, or both?

Yes, I support the state legislature allowing NYC to collect the tax from people from the suburbs who work in NYC and benefit from our services. The commuter tax should never have been removed and it is only fair that it be reinstated. Given how much more we as city residents pay to the state compared to what we get back, a major campaign should be organized to make this happen. We also need greater enforcement on those high earners who seek to cheat the system.

10. Poverty & the Social Safety Net. According to a 2012 report by the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, many struggling New Yorkers are eligible for welfare, but have not been able to obtain it due to onerous application requirements, and the excessive and arbitrary use of “sanctions” by the City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA). These obstacles have caused very little increase in welfare cases during the recent recession, as contrasted with large increases in Food Stamps and Medicaid. Would you change HRA to make it easier for eligible families to obtain cash assistance, connect them to jobs or meaningful job training, and reform the improper use of sanctions? How would you manage New York City's social safety net programs to ensure that people get the help they need, while at the same time preventing fraud? Report: http:/www.fpwa.org/cgi-bin/iowa/policy/article/218.html

We must make sure that those that need the help, are able to get the help. We can prevent fraud and abuse and at the same time pro-actively reach out to eligible low income families, remove obstacles, eliminate needless red tape and bureaucracy and provide meaningful job training.

11. Homelessness. When Mayor Bloomberg first ran, he promised to introduce policies to drastically reduce the numbers of people who are homeless in our city. But during the twelve years of his administration, the numbers of homeless have increased dramatically each year. This is in addition to the approximately 50,000 people sleeping in shelters on an average night, according to a recent report by the Coalition for the Homeless. What would you do to deal with this sad situation? Sources: http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/state-of-the-homeless-2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/nyregion/20homeless.html

It is time we start dealing with the growth in our homeless in a real way. Right now, our city’s programs are not adequately serving the homeless and are not smart planning or fiscal policy. The only ones benefitting are rich, connected landlords profiting from a bad system. We need a plan similar to one advanced by Coalition for the Homeless that better utilize Federal and City housing resources to move homeless families and individuals from the shelter system into permanent housing, works with the State to create an effective State-City rental assistance program and removes barriers to shelter for homeless families and individuals. And we need to build more affordable housing, including using Sandy money, and create more, better paying jobs to reduce the homeless population.

12. Hurricane Sandy & Environmental Protection. The devastating impact that Hurricane Sandy had on New York City poses short term and long term challenges: immediate support for those who lost their homes and businesses, and climate change, respectively. What measures do you support for helping Sandy recovery efforts, as well as energy conservation and reducing the carbon footprint of New York City? What is your position on hydraulic fracturing and the Spectra pipeline?

As we have in the past after disasters, we must use the federal money to comeback stronger than we were before with our homes and businesses secure and resilient from natural disasters. This includes ideas like the proposal from Scott Stringer and Brian Kavanaugh to create an East River Blueway that both improves and protects the Lower East Side. We need to insure that important power stations are protected and that buildings like hospitals move the generators out of the basements. And we need to develop a response plan that details where vulnerable seniors and others live and builds a volunteer corps and a plan to getting to them so seniors aren’t again stranded on high floors with no supplies. And we must look at big, long term protections like sea walls, bulkheads and flood gates; and soft infrastructure like sand dunes, wetlands and embankments. We must not sit back and hope this kind of storm will not happen again. Instead we must be smart and prepared and that is what I will do as Borough President. I am the lead sponsor of the City Council Resolution to ban fracking in New York State and think NYC should be on the frontline in reducing carbon footprint including investing in mass transit and increasing the use of renewable energy sources.

13. Gun Control. While DFNYC members have long supported gun control, the December 14th shooting in Newtown, Connecticut seems to have changed the debate on the national level. Do you support the proposals President Obama made to (a) renew and fix the assault weapons ban, (b) ban high capacity magazines (limit the number of bullets that can be shot before reloading), and (c) improve the background check system? Please indicate any other methods you would support to reduce gun violence, including how you would implement them, for example: gun buy-back programs, training programs for gun owners, improved access to mental health care, and involving the business community in gun safety.

We must reduce gun violence and I have been a longtime strong advocate for this. I have worked in the community with Jackie Rowe-Adams and the Harlem Mothers, sponsored gun buyback programs, and been a strong, active supporter of stronger state and federal legislation.

14. Choice & Marriage Equality. Please briefly state your position on the following three issues: marriage equality for gays & lesbians, a woman's right to choose, and access to birth control. (25 words or less)

1. Are you pro-choice? (Do you support a woman's right to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy?) - YES 2. Do you support equal marriage rights for same sex couples? - YES 3. Do you believe corporations are people? Do you believe the Citizens United case on this issue was wrongly decided by the Supreme Court? Corporations are not people and the case has had a destructive and corrupting effect on democracy.

~ Robert Jackson, current NYC Councilmember for the 7th District  (North Manhattan) and candidate for Manhattan Borough President.  http://jackson2013.com/