Brewer, Activists To Push For Ranked Choice Voting In All NYC Offices
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer today alongside Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY, and others will join together to push the NYC Charter Commission to put ranked choice voting for all elections on the final ballot.
RCV is a consensus driven system that would allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference, instead of a winner take all model. The groups’ proposal would implement Ranked Choice Voting for all NYC primary and special elections, including races for city council and citywide offices.
On Monday, the Charter Commision listed ranked choice voting as a preliminary recommendation for the November ballot.
In 2021, 70% of the City Council will be term limited, as well as all five borough presidencies, including Comptroller Scott Stringer and Mayor Bill de Blasio. That means at least 200 candidates will be competing for open seats. Ranked choice voting would help create consensus, lessen negative attacks, and save tax dollars.
The NYC Charter Commission will vote on a final slate of proposals in June that voters will ultimately approve or reject on the November ballot.
The event is slated for 1 p.m., today, April 25, at City Hall in Lower Manhattan.
Maloney Slams Trump Admin for Weakening UN Resolution Against Conflict Sexual Violence
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), House sponsor of the resolution to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), this week slammed the Trump Administration’s latest threat to women’s reproductive rights.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Mission to the U.N. threatened to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution on ending sexual violence in conflict unless the reference of “sexual and reproductive health” was removed. The german-drafted resolution still passed and was adopted by the Council which aims to reduce sexual violence in conflict and end rape as a weapon of war.
The resolution urged existing sexual violence sanctions committees “to apply targeted sanctions against those who perpetrate and direct sexual violence in conflict.” This year marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of Resolution 1888, which created the mandate of the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, according to initial reports.
“I am deeply disappointed and ashamed about what happened at the United Nations today. The Trump Administration’s actions at the UN are unconscionable, and threaten the hard-fought progress made in favor of women and girl’s rights in armed conflict,” said Maloney.
“I am ashamed that this veto threat was issued in the name of the American people. It is clear that the Trump Administration’s war on women knows no borders. They have once again prioritized political ideology over the lives of women and girls,” added Maloney.
Espaillat Pushes For Federal Climate Change Legislation
Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) yesterday spoke on H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, and the urgency to put forth policies to mitigate climate change and purse adaptation for vulnerable communities locally and around the world.
The legislation was introduced in late March as an effort to prevent the United States from withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. The new bill requires that the White House submit yearly plans on how it’ll achieve carbon emissions reduction targets. The bill comes off the heels of the defeated Green New Deal announced by rookie Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx Queens).
“…remaining in the Paris Agreement should be our baseline, and the U.S. should prioritize working with global partners to pursue policies that keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius, to transition to clean energies, and to mitigate the effects of climate change that we are already seeing,” said Espaillat in his address before the Full House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“The effects of climate change are evident today in more extreme temperatures and more frequent and more intense natural disasters, exacerbating conflicts, degrading public health, and diminishing access to food and clean water for millions around the world. This is a global issue, and I am glad that the Foreign Affairs Committee today is demonstrating that we understand the need to address climate change with global solutions,” added Espaillat.
