Dear Friend,
In the past six weeks my campaign for Lieutenant Governor and reform in Albany has gone from a position of relative obscurity to a beacon of hope for having the best legislature in the nation by 2014.
This weekend I had the pleasure of leading a group of more than fifty activists in a rally against disgraced Bronx Senator Pedro Espada outside his real home in Mamaroneck, Westchester, where we "celebrated" the one year anniversary of his attempted coup with the Senate GOP. During the rally we ate sushi in recognition of the $20,000 worth of sushi that Espada paid for with funds allegedly looted from the Soundview Health Care network. You can learn more about the rally at: http://newrooseveltinitiative.com/coup-anniversary-rally
At the rally, I announced that I would be expanding the New Roosevelt Initiative, into a robust organization dedicated to electing pro-reform Democratic candidates to the State Senate through independent, aggressive field campaigns. The Initiative will use Red Horse Strategies for its campaign work and field organizing, but under our new plan will engage in more races and take on an expanded role in the public policy arena.
To build the Initiative to its full capacity, I will forgo my planned run for Lieutenant Governor and State Senate President, instead I will focus all of my efforts on expanding the New Roosevelt Initiative.
When we started, the New Roosevelt Initiative was the means by which we could give the Lieutenant Governor and State Senate President a greater ability and opportunity to achieve legislative reform. If I were a politician, I would continue to follow that path. But as an activist, I know that the goal is not simply to hold office, but to maximize the opportunity to effect real and lasting reform. What I want to achieve is to fix the State Senate and give New York the best state legislature in the nation. After hearing Attorney General Cuomo's bold agenda for reform, it became clear to me that the best way to maximize my capacity to impact reform is by focusing all of my time, energy, and resources on building and expanding the New Roosevelt Initiative.
The New Roosevelt Initiative will be appointing a group of senior advisors, including longtime Democratic activists Dennis Mehiel, Vincent Roberti, William vanden Heuvel and former New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. These advisors will help grow the organization to enable it to take on 4 or more races this year, rather than the 1-2 races originally planned. The Initiative will also expand to include a more robust public policy component, providing activists, candidates, civic leaders, elected officials, and the media with more detailed policy analyses and background on critical reforms.
Thank you for all of your interest during my brief but effective candidacy for Lieutenant Governor and Senate President. Please join my team as we redouble our efforts on reforming Albany and expanding the New Roosevelt Initiative.
If you are interested in taking this once in a lifetime opportunity to reform Albany by supporting our effort, please consider joining , donating , signing up to volunteer , serving as an advisor , or telling a friend about the New Roosevelt Initiative .
Democratically yours,