President’s Message – Nov 2017
By Phil Orenstein
We’ve said it many times before and will keep saying it until we wake up. Elections matter. Voting has consequences, and now we see many of the unintended consequences in our neighborhoods and our city in decline as a result of dismally low voter turnout in past city elections.
The one power we enjoy as citizens is the act of voting and thereby holding our elected officials accountable. If we don’t vote we lose our power as citizens in America. Nothing scares our elected officials and defenders of the status quo more than an engaged public exercising their power to vote. Our founding principles give people a say in their government, meaning that we must exercise our votes and our voices. Everyone needs to get out and vote and encourage our neighbors and friends to do so on November 7th.
On November 7, New Yorkers will vote on two ballot referenda: Proposition 1 for a state Constitutional Convention, and Proposition 2, a Constitutional Amendment that would deny pensions to politicians convicted of certain crimes.