Democracy For NYC's 4th Annual Benefit

Last night in Tribeca the local Democracy for America chapter, DfNYC, held its 4th annual fund-raiser and it was another success in their relatively short but sweet stand on New York City's political stage. Air America Radio's President (and former Public Advocate) Mark Green and Democracy for America chairman Jim Dean were the honored speakers of the evening. Baratunde Thurston of Laughing Liberally provided the laughs and politicos abounded throughout the beautiful lounge.

As an organizer with the event, I was pleased to see an impressive turnout last night. Members schmoozed with elected officials such as David Yassky, Tony Avella and Eric Gioia. Plenty of candidates for various offices around the state were in the room as well. Jimmy Dahroug, Luke Henry, Norman Siegel, Josh Skaller and Don Barber all made their case to the astute voters that belong to Democracy for NYC.

Pictured above from left to right is State Senate candidate Don Barber, Air America's Mark Green, DfNYC Executive Director Tracey Denton and Finance Chair Lewis Cohen. More pictures of the event can be found here.

Democracy for NYC Party Tonight!

(Note: I am on the host committee for this event)

Tonight Democracy for New York City is holding its 4th annual benefit in Tribeca. The group that emerged from the Dean for America campaign in NYC is still going strong and doing so much in our city as well as the state. So to celebrate its fourth anniversary, DfNYC has Democracy for America chairman Jim Dean and Air America Radio President Mark Green as our special guests. Comedian Baratunde Thurston will be doing his shtick as well, I saw him at Netroots Nation this past weekend, and I guarantee you, he's funny.

Here are the details:

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
6:30pm - 9:00pm
M1-5 at 52 Walker Street

Between Church Street & Broadway
6, J, M, N, Q, or W train to Canal Street
This venue is completely wheelchair and disabled accessible.

Please RSVP at rsvp.dfnyc.org

Please join Democracy for NYC for our 4th Annual Summer Cocktail Reception - Unity '08 - as we prepare to take back the White House in November and celebrate Democratic victories in the House and Senate.

Special Guest Speakers
Mark Green, Chairman of Air America Radio
Jim Dean, Chairman of Democracy for America

Political comedy by Laughing Liberally's Baratunde Thurston

Contribution levels:
DFNYC Benefactor - $2,500
DFNYC Patron - $1,000
DFNYC Loyalist - $500
DFNYC Enthusiast - $250
DFNYC Supporter - $100
DFNYC Friend - $50

Plus there will be plenty of elected officials in attendance so come on down and enjoy some drinks and a few hors d'ourves with New York City's progressive community tonight!

Kevin Powell Shows Up For DfNYC Forum, Ed Towns Ignores It

Last night in Brooklyn Kevin Powell came out to speak to a small gathering of Democracy for New York City members. Unfortunately the lighting at the Boat Bar on Smith wasn't good enough to take a picture like this. Powell was reaching out for their endorsement in his primary challenge to Edolphus Towns in the 10th Congressional District of New York. Edolphus Towns has been in Congress for twenty-five years, so maybe he thought that he was above these sorts of things (Official response was that they don't do anything until after the petitioning process). Still, even though he didn't show, Kevin Powell still had a lot to say...and a lot to offer.

Powell is originally from New Jersey and attended Rutgers. He is a writer, community activist and most importantly supports progressive issues that affect his neighborhood of 18 years in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. He's committed to be "a new voice" and one that fights developers instead of coddling them. He's in favor of repealing Bush's bankruptcy law as well as scrapping all of "No Child Left Behind." Powell argues it is essential to helping the thousands of borough residents that have had their homes foreclosed on and have children that deserve better schools.

Even though Towns wasn't there, that didn't mean Powell couldn't talk about the Congressman. He mentioned Towns has missed well over a 1000 votes in Congress, doesn't even chair a committee after twenty-five years and takes money from industries such as those that sell tobacco. He thought it was "unwise and unfair" of Towns to not show up last night. Then he likened himself to Donna Edwards who defeated incumbent Al Wynn in a primary challenge down in Maryland earlier this year. He is raising money, "approaching $100,000" and looking to quadruple that amount for the primary. It won't match Towns' fundraising cash but that doesn't have to happen for him to win the primary on September 9th. If electing progressive Democrats sounds like a good thing to you (even in solidly Democratic districts), then check out Kevin Powell versus the incumbent Ed Towns for yourself.

NY-10 Showdown 5/28 Wed. Night, Towns? Vs. Powell

From Democracy for New York City:

Democracy for NYC is hosting a candidate forum this Wednesday in Congressional District 10, where Kevin Powell is challenging incumbent Congressman Edolphus Towns in the Democratic primary. Join us to ask questions and learn about important urban issues and how they are influenced by acts of Congress.

What: Candidate Forum in CD-10. Invited Candidates, in alphabetical order: Kevin Powell (invited & confirmed), Edolphus Towns (invited, not confirmed)

When: This Wednesday, May 28th, 7:30 - 8:30pm

Where: Boat Bar, 175 Smith Street, between Wycoff & Warren, in Brooklyn. Take the F train to Bergen Street, and walk one block south on Smith. Even if you're coming from Manhattan, it's a quick trip.

Why: This is a safe Democratic seat, so the winner of this primary is virtually guaranteed to win in November and represent Brooklyn in Congress. In our fight to take back Congress, many have expressed concerns about getting involved in primaries. I certainly respect every one's right to make their own decisions as to how they volunteer and contribute money. But if we ignore primaries in safe Democratic seats, we're basically ignoring the 40 or 50 seats across the country in urban areas, representing mainly African-American and Latino voters. The progressive community should be taking part in these races to ensure that urban issues are on the agenda of Congress. It is a mistake to believe that representation in these districts is satisfactory, as long as it is big-D Democratic. Forums and primaries provide a great opportunity to make sure we have a strong, progressive Democratic majority in Congress.

Of course this a solidly blue district, we're talking about Brooklyn here people. However, primaries are held to replace leaders we don't like in our own party or to "hold them to the fire." Healthy opposition for incumbents is a part of our democracy and anyone that thinks otherwise might want to look up the definition for 'fiefdom.'

I write question marks next to Towns' name because he hasn't confirmed his attendance and in all likelihood, he won't show up. Nevertheless it will be a good opportunity for people in NY-10 or any curious New Yorker to meet the people that put their names on the line to run for higher office.

In case you can't make it, count on me to blog the event and get a YouTube video up as well.

Newell And Henry Square Off, Shelly Silver Nowhere To Be Found

Sheldon Silver didn't show up to Democracy for New York City's debate between the primary candidates for the 64th Assembly District. He claims he is waiting to see who all the candidates will be, code word for I'm too good for a debate because I'm Mr. Speaker of the Assembly. Someone doesn't think their shit doesn't stink, but down here under his high horse it is revolting.

Anyways, his challengers, Paul Newell and Luke Henry did show up and there was definitely a lot to talk about. Here are a few clips thanks to the camera work of Azi Paybarah of the NY Observer:

First, are these guys electable?



Are you a progressive?



And will you fight for affordable housing?



There's plenty more coverage from the debate, check out Azi's YouTube page for all the clips.