Let's Take Over NY State Senate

I rarely post requests for funds, but because the Working Families Party is still unknown to many, this seemed a good opportunity to provide them a boost, through publicity as well as potential funds. If you're broke like me, perhaps you could volunteer time or just spread the word. Any action is better than none.

Help the WFP Take Back Albany

On Feb. 26th, a Special Election will give us the chance to cut the GOP majority in the State Senate to a single seat. Our candidate Darrel Aubertine (D-WF) is running on a platform to bring back living wage jobs to an area that needs them badly. It's an important race, and we can't win it alone.
[...] A 6th generation dairy farmer, Darrel Aubertine’s populist message blends well with the WFP. If we win, we'll be one seat away from taking back the State Senate for the first time in over 40 years.
If the Democrats take over the State Senate, we'll still have lots of work to do to hold them accountable. But it will give us a big opening to put a working families-friendly agenda into law. What would that mean?
Paid Family Leave: Last year, we came this close to making New York the third state to give paid time off to take care of a newborn or when someone you love gets sick. It's a simple idea whose time has come.
Fair Taxes: New York's tax system is totally out of whack. Pataki's tax cuts were so skewed toward the rich that middle class and working class people now pay a higher percentage of their income in state and local taxes than the wealthy. This can't go on. With a budget deficit looming, the WFP will launch a major effort in 2008 to 1) lower property taxes on working families being squeezed, and 2) raise income taxes on those who got the lion's share of the Bush and Pataki cuts.
Clean Elections: There's nothing our democracy needs more than real campaign finance reform. Otherwise, the game is rigged in favor of the wealthy and well-connected. With publicly financed elections, we can level Albany's playing field.
On Feb. 26th, an upstate Special Election will give us the chance to cut the Republican State Senate majority to just one seat.
The district (SD 48) is traditionally Republican turf. But in an area where good jobs are hard to come by, the Working Families Party message can really hit home.
We’re already more than halfway to our goal of raising $10,000 before February 20th for a targeted mailing to swing voters. The piece is ready to go, but we need your help to pay for printing and postage.
https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1306/t/2774/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=1934

Stop MTA MADness!

What about the books? How can the MTA AGAIN have a surplus but need us to fork over more money? Why won't they let citizens find out where our hard earned money goes? I've decided we must make such a stink that they are forced to. Let's educate each other AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE about potential fraud and misconduct on the part of the MTA. It should be CRIMINAL to treat citizens like cattle off to slaughter when we are just trying to get to work.
Remember: MTA: Stop the MADness! Open the BOOKS!
[...] In 2005, [NYC] riders paid 55% of the costs of running the subways and buses. Metro-North riders paid 51% and LIRR riders paid 47%.But riders in other cities pay much less. The national average for the top 50 transit systems is 37%. In Chicago it’s 43%, in Philadelphia its 37% and in Boston it’s just 29%.
As the New York Times has noted: “The city and state have unconscionably underfinanced mass transit for years, a legacy of Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The formula for funding mass transportation should be changed before any fares are raised.”

Sign the Petition:
The MTA is predicting a $300 million surplus next year. But they still want to raise fares on 86% of all trips. Working families already struggle to make it in New York, and now this?
Governor Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg: Halt the Hike!

HaltTheHike.org is a campaign of the Working Families Party and NYPIRG's Straphangers Campaign.

http://www.haltthehike.org/