QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, August 15, 2013 Page 20
SQ page 20
The fight to avoid voter suppression U.S. senator slams Supreme Court for Voting Rights Act decision by Tess McRae Reporter
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) met with Queens community leaders and elected officials on Friday to urge congressional leaders to pass bipartisan legislation this year to restore the Voting Rights Act. This past June, the U.S. Supreme Court made a controversial amendment to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by striking down Section 5, which determines which states and localities must get federal approval before they change their voting rights laws. “This was a terrible blow to our nation’s commitment to voting rights,” Gillibrand said in the Queens Borough Hall conference room. “Voting rights are one of the most sacred rights we have as Americans and there is no doubt that this decision has jeopardized it.” The Voting Rights Act was written into law at a time when racial tensions and segregation were resulting in unfair requirements of minority voters, as a way to even the playing field. In the June 5-4 decision, the judges ruled that requiring certain states to seek approval before changing a voting law is unconstitutional and no longer needed. “This is not some esoteric decision from some faraway place,” Gillibrand argued. “It has implications right here in Queens. Yes, New York City has come a very long way
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, center, speaks out on amendments to the Voting Rights Act with Borough President Helen Marshall, left, Mazeda Uddin of the Alliance of South Asian American PHOTO BY TESS MCRAE Labor, center right, and New York State NAACP President Hazel Dukes. since the 1960s, but challenges still remain.” Gillibrand said that from 1990 to 2005, the city had to withdraw four dozen proposed changes to its voting procedure after the Justice Department demanded more details. “There is a common misconception that Section 5 only caters to minorities in the
South, but we have used this to provide fully translated Chinese ballots in New York City,” said Jerry Vattamala, a staff attorney with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. “Section 5 has been crucial for Asian Americans to protect their right to vote. We are a nation of laws and laws need to be followed.”
To counter the court’s decision, Gillibrand is backing the Common Sense Act that she says will ensure equal access and crack down on alleged voter suppression. It will also make registration more accessible by authorizing automatic, same-day online voter registration. “Martin Luther King often spoke about the fierce urgency of now,” Gillibrand said. “Now is the time to protect voting rights battles that we have already won and to press forward for new protections. Instead of putting new burdens on voters, our bill looks to protect. Instead of looking for votes to throw away, our bill guarantees that every vote will count.” Gillibrand and Vattamala were joined with Borough President Helen Marshall, New York State NAACP President Hazel Dukes, Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills), and Mazeda Uddin of the Alliance of South Asian American Labor, who all echoed the senator’s urgency. “We are here to protect the rights of all Americans regardless of when they got here or how they got here; we want them to be part of this great nation,” Dukes said. “Section 5 will guarantee that the votes of Americans are protected. Racial discrimination has no place in our democracy or in our voting process, so senator, we got your back.” Q
Campaign finances: no breaks from pack Quinn, Vallone, Stringer, Squadron ahead; James receives financial boost by Michael Gannon
For the latest news visit qchron.com
Editor
Campaign finance forms for city elections released on Aug. 9 are the first of the campaign season to reflect the addition of public matching funds to candidates’ coffers. And the reports show that citywide races are still up for grabs among major candidates. The following figures do not include those who have suspended their campaigns, or have reported little or no campaign fundraising or spending. Among Democratic contenders for mayor, fading frontrunner and Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) still leads all comers with more than $8.6 million left in the bank. She received more than $3.3 million in matching funds. Former Congressman Anthony Weiner has been plummeting in the polls, and published reports have said his fundraising ability has been crippled by scandal and possibly the influence of national Democratic leaders. Yet he still sat second to Quinn as of Aug. 9 with more than $6.1 million remaining on hand.
Weiner has received more than $1.4 million in public money, funds he would not have received had he not run for some type of city office this year. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, with an injection of nearly $2.2 million in matching funds, has been charging hard in the polls. He has a shade over $4 million in cash reserves. Former Comptroller Bill Thompson has more than $3.4 million on hand, including more than $1.4 million in public dollars. Comptroller John Liu has raised nearly $3.4 million for his campaign, but was denied any matching funds in a decision that likely has doomed a campaign already stuck in single digits in the polls. He now h a s $1.3 m i l l ion remaining. On the Republican side, an infusion of more than $1.4 million represents the bulk of former MTA Chairman Joe Lhota’s remaining $1.7 million war chest. The other major Republican player, John Catsimatidis, has eschewed matching funds. His filing lists less than $133,000
on hand and more than $4 million in liabilities. But refusing public money grants the supermarket tycoon virtually limitless ability to fund his campaign from his personal wealth. Fellow GOP candidate George McDonald has $33,000 on hand and reported liabilities of more than $486,000.
2013 Independence candidate and former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. has $327,000 cash on hand. Jack Hidary, a tech entrepreneur who is funding his own campaign, reported nearly $390,000 in the bank. In the Democratic primary for comptroller, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has $4.6 million in the bank, including $1.46 million in public funds. His opponent, disgraced former
Gov. Eliot Spitzer, is sitting on more than $1.1 million. Spitzer too is largely self-funding his own campaign. On the GOP side of the ledger, John Burnett, who has spent his career in the financial industry, lists a bank balance of $30,625, and liabilities of nearly $28,000. Three of the four major candidates to replace de Blasio as public advocate — all of them Democrats — are tightly bunched following public funding. State Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn) has $1.6 million in the bank, having received $1.4 million in city funding. He is being followed closely by former Deputy Public Advocate and former Congressional candidate Reshma Saujani at $1.3 million, an amount bolstered by more than $907,000 in matching funds. Councilwoman Letitia James has just under $999,000 cash on hand, helped greatly by nearly $778,000 in matching funds. Fellow Democrat Catherine Guerriero received no matching funds, though records on the Campaign Finance Board’s website
states her campaign filed a matching claim of $77,332. Her campaign is reporting a balance of $30,489, with more than $113,000 i n liabilities. In the race for the Democratic nomination for Queens borough president, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) already has been the race’s 800-pound gorilla when it came to fundraising. And that was before he received nearly $644,000 in matching funds. His campaign reported a bank balance of more than $1 million on Aug. 9. Melinda Katz, who served Forest Hills in the Council and the state Senate, has the Queens Democratic Party endorsement, as well as a hefty $742,000 balance on hand, than ks largely to more than $480,000 in public financing. Matching funds in the amount of $274,260 might have allowed state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) to stay in up to the Sept. 10 Democratic primary. Avella terminated his campaign late Wednesday afternoon, saying he feels he can best serve the city as Q a senator.