May 13, 2013
Dear Friend:
I write to ask your support as the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Club considers endorsing a candidate for New York City Mayor in 2013.
Tilden is an important progressive force in our city – and I congratulate you on 60 years of service to our City! The Club’s commitment to progressive principles and tradition of community organizing are critical as we fight for change in New York City.
I have a long record of working for progressive policies and serving as a strong neighborhood voice in City Hall – two goals that go hand in hand.
- Affordable and Safe Housing – Through my Landlords Watchlist, I have worked with tenants and organizations across the city to hold bad landlords accountable – driving up repairs in hundreds of the city’s worst buildings. I have introduced an eight-point plan that will create real affordable housing and put a stop to developer giveaways at the expense of working New Yorkers.
- Progressive Taxation for Universal Early Childhood Education and After-school Programs – I am the only candidate who proposes an income tax surcharge on the wealthiest New Yorkers in order to ensure that all our children get full day pre-K and all middle school kids have a safe place to go after school.
- Transparency and Reform – I created a national coalition to fight back against the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision which opened the floodgates for corporate spending in our elections -- we successfully pushed companies to change their spending policies, and we will not stop there.
- Respectful Policing – It’s past time for change. First, our city needs an Inspector General. Second, we need a new police commissioner who does not believe that racial profiling is an effective policing tool, but instead believes in community policing that keeps our neighborhoods safe and strengthens relationships between police and community.
- Gun Reform – As a trustee on the City’s employees pension board (NYCERS), I pushed for divestment from arms manufacturers following the tragedy in Newton, CT and stood outside NY-based private equity firms to demand their divestment as well.
I will be the first NYC Mayor in history to serve while having a child attending our public schools; improving education is personal to me. That is why I have challenged Mayor Bloomberg’s plans to close struggling schools, co-locate charter schools in public schools, demonize teachers and threaten them with layoffs, and transfer power from parents to out-of-touch chancellors.
At a time when Wall Street has hit historic highs and one in five New Yorkers lives in poverty, I firmly reject Mayor Bloomberg’s belief that homelessness isn’t a real problem, that higher taxes on millionaires is unfair, and that big developers deserve more help than mom-and-pop shops. My number one goal as mayor is to tackle the shameful income inequality that threatens to make New York City a playground for the rich and an unaffordable daily struggle for everyone else.
Recently, I stood with Tilden demanding that the City grant a permit for your important annual street fair. I have stood with the tenants of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village calling for faster and better responses to repair issues in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, and continue to fight for a Midtown rezoning project that is best for the residents of our City – not Mike Bloomberg’s legacy.
I hope I will have your support. If you would like further information, please don’t hesitate to reach by emailing info@billdeblasio.com or calling 718-222-2928.
