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 (1) DFNYC July Linkups- This Wed (7/11) & Thursday (7/12)
Usually the DFA community holds Linkups on the first Wednesday of the month, but that fell on July 4th this year. So we moved them to this week, with Sheepshead Bay on Wednesday. The Manhattan Linkup will be this Thursday the 12th, as many of our politically active members are busy with petitioning and the fundraising deadline on Wed. July 11th. (If a candidate you love says they need money now - they are right! Please contribute now so they can have a strong filing Wednesday.)
Join at one of the following Linkups to discuss endorsements in local races and do some Obama swing-state letter writing:
Sheepshead Bay/Midwood Linkup: Wednesday, July 11 at 7pm, Del Rio Diner, 166 Kings Highway, Brooklyn, with host Rosalie Caliendo.
Lower Manhattan/Union Square Linkup: Thursday, July 12 at 7pm, Argo Tea Café at 75 University Place @11th Street, with hosts Tracey Keij-Denton, Richard Wallner, and Jen Berkley.
(2) DFNYC BBQ Date Changed - More info. in Thursday's Newsletter
The Second Annual DFNYC Summer BBQ will now be held the first week of August! We'll be back at Reif's Tavern on the Upper East Side from 7-10pm. We are finalizing the date with the venue, and we will announce it in the next newsletter on Thursday. Also, you can visit this page at our website for the calendar entry for the BBQ, where we will post updates, including special guests and speakers:
http://dfnyc.org/index.php/dfnyc-community/events/month.calendar/2012/08/09/-
(3) Meet the NYS Director of Women for Obama, Thurs July 12
~ Learn How You Can Help Get President Obama Re-elected
~ Plus: President Obama Wins on Student Loans - Click here for details
Join DFNYC members and others from the progressive community for an informative discussion with Women for Obama and learn what YOU can do to help make sure President Obama wins re-election in November.
When: This Thursday, July 12th at 6:30pm.
Where: 227 W. 17th St., 6th Floor (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues).
Please RSVP here.
We know so much is at stake for women this year: We have a President who believes in us and has worked tirelessly for equal pay for equal work, affordable healthcare for every woman and family, access to affordable education, and our right to choice. President Obama has fought for us, now it's time to fight for him -- and future generations. Meet Sue Hornik, the new state Women for Obama director, and neighborhood Women for Obama coordinators in a relaxing social setting and find out how women in NYC can make a difference.
(4) New Yorkers Against Fracking Rally - Tomorrow (Tues.) at City Hall
From the group New Yorkers Against Fracking:
On Tuesday, July 10th at noon, New Yorkers Against Fracking will gather on the steps of New York City Hall to denounce the collusion that has apparently taken place between the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Oil & Gas Industry on fracking regulations and call on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to withdraw draft rules. The fact that DEC officials secretly communicated exclusively with the oil and gas industry while writing hydrofracking regulations represents grave ethical impropriety by the Cuomo administration that calls into question the integrity of the governor's fracking review process and any hypothetical regulations proposed. Given these revelations about collusion between the gas industry and the DEC, the public can have no faith and trust in the DEC's current review of fracking. At the press conference, we will call on Gov. Cuomo to immediately withdraw the DEC's draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) and instruct the DEC to initiate an entirely new environmental, public health, and economic review of fracking based on science, not politics or industry influence. To restore the public's trust, transparency and independent scientists must be at the heart of any new studies and reviews. Join DFNYC on the steps of City Hall and stand up against this apparent collusion and impropriety. For more information, please click here. As always, if you can't make it in person, you can always call the governor's office at 1-866-584-6799 and tell him you are against fracking.
~ For more: http://www.facebook.com/events/447484055284022/
(5) Rally at City Hall to Support Paid Sick Days, Wed. July 18
On Wednesday, July 18th at noon, the Women's Task Force for Paid Sick Days will rally on the steps of City Hall calling for a vote of the City Council on this important issue. This is an issue that deeply affects families when a parent loses pay or their job due to illness, leaves our workplaces vulnerable to the spread of infection, and threatens our communities due to unsustainable employment opportunities. As of this writing, 37 City Councilmembers have signed on in support of the bill. Our job, as we gather, is to urge City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to bring this bill to a vote. There is support to pass this bill and potentially even enough votes to override a possible mayoral veto, but first the City Council must vote. Please share your lunch hour with the Women's Task Force for Paid Sick Days and DFNYC and stand up for the 1.5 million New Yorkers without paid sick days. We will stand together. Ask your friends and colleagues to join us. For more information or to RSVP, please contact DFNYC Vice President Jen Berkley at jenberkley@dfnyc.org.
(6) Hot Races Update!
~Rangel pulls ahead, races in Queens, Brooklyn & Staten Island take shape
~Interested in Congress? DFNYC's list of races in NY State
Below are some races we have heard a lot of buzz about in the progressive grassroots community, for the Sept. 13th primary and the Nov. 6th general election. Are you supporting one of these candidates? We want to hear from you! Email Political Director Richard Wallner at rwallner@dfnyc.org.
Interested in Congress? We've made a list at the DFNYC website of the NY Congressional delegation, along with new and old district numbers and who is running for what. Check it out, and let us know if it needs updates on competitive races: http://www.dfnyc.org/index.php/advocacy/candidates/2012-candidates/127-2012-ny-congressional-candidates
Manhattan
A. Congressional District 13 (the old 15th) - Rangel widens lead over Espaillat
B. State Senate District 31 - Adriano Espaillat is the incumbent, he might be facing Guillermo Linares in September
Brooklyn
C. District Leader in the 50th AD (Williamsburg area): Incumbent Democrat Lincoln Restler v. primary challenger Chris Olechowski.
D. State Senate District 22: Democrat Gounardes v. incumbent Republican Marty Golden.
E. Assembly District 57: Hakeem Jeffries' current seat; several candidates running.
F. Assembly District 45: Incumbent Democrat Steven Cymbrowitz faces a primary challenge from Ben Akselrod.
Staten Island (& Brooklyn):
G. Congressional District 11 (the old 13th): Democrat Mark Murphy v. incumbent Republican Michael Grimm. Click here for more info. on this race.
Queens
H. Congressional District 6 (the old 5th): Gary Ackerman retiring - Democrat Grace Meng (endorsed by DFNYC) v. Republican Dan Halloran
I. Assembly District 22: Grace Meng's current seat; several candidates are running. Click here for more info on Queens races.
(7) City Council Overrides Bloomberg's Living Wage Veto
In a significant win for hard-working New York taxpayers, the NYC Council voted overwhelmingly on June 29th to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg's veto of the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act. The long-overdue legislation affirms what a majority of New Yorkers believe: when tax dollars are used to promote private enterprise, the public has the right to expect something in return: good jobs at good wages. Under the terms of the legislation, any private development project directly accepting $1 million or more in taxpayer subsidies must now pay employees a living wage of $10/hour with supplemental health benefits or $11.50/hour without benefits. The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act, co-sponsored by Council members Oliver Koppel and Annabel Palma, reforms the city's taxpayer-funded economic development programs, which have failed to create good jobs for New Yorkers because, until now, they lacked enforceable wage standards of any kind. "It's been a long journey to get here, but with the help of all of our partners, I believe we have succeeded in producing landmark legislation that will immediately help to improve the lives of hundreds of working New Yorkers," said Council Member Annabel Palma, co-sponsor of the bill, in the Daily News. For more information, click here.
(8) Important Election Dates for 2012: Aug., Sept., Oct. & Links to Forms
State Legislative primaries are scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. To vote in this Primary Election (if you are not already registered in a particular party), your voter registration form must be postmarked no later than August 17, 2012 and received by the city's Board of Elections no later than August 24, 2012 to be eligible to vote on Sept. 13. The General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 and the last day to register to vote for the General Election is Wednesday, Oct.12, 2012.You can download and print a voter registration form here and send it in according to the deadlines detailed in this paragraph. (It is also available in three other languages.) For all elections, the poll site locator feature on the Board of Election's website here now provides voters with their polling places and specific sample ballots here, based upon the addresses you enter, thanks to City Councilmember Gail Brewer who worked to make this feature available online to all voters.
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