Cleaning House... In Rochester, New York

Monroe County (Rochester, NY) has its own member of Congress. It's a nice, safe blue district-- PVI is D+8-- and Obama won both times with 59% and even Hillary beat Trump in the district 55.5% to 39.1%. Louise Slaughter represented the district for 16 terms, from 1987 'til her death in 2018. she was succeeded by a local political hack, then an Assemblyman and a cog in the corrupt New York state political machine of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who appointed him Assembly Majority Leader. (Silver was arrested in 2015 on federal corruption charges for which he was convicted and then sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to repay $5.3 million in ill-gotten gains.) When he was arrested, his puppet Morelle became acting Speaker. Morelle is incredibly corrupt and has been caught fixing his own election petitions, a crime.

Morelle joined the Wall Street-owned New Dems and quickly earned an "F" vote score from ProgressivePunch. He paid to also become a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus-- a kind of insurance policy for election time when he can-- falsely-- claim to be a "progressive."

This cycle, Robin Wilt, an actual progressive-- endorsed by Blue America, is running for the seat. One of Wilt's top issues is Medicare-for-All, which Morelle opposes. He had previously voted against the NY Health Act in the state Assembly in 2017 and 2018, despite the bill passing 94/46 and 91/46 respectively, then Chairman of the Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance, a fount of corruption for state politicians. One of his top donors is the American Hospital Association, which is also participating in the funding of the anti-Medicare for All jihad.

Another major plank in Wilt's platform is her support for the Green New Deal, which is also opposed by Morelle who has refused to cosponsor AOC's Green New Deal Resolution.

Morelle has been on the wrong side of almost every progressive initiative since he came to Congress-- from Criminal justice reform (including the No Money Bail Act and the Marijuana Justice Act, which would remove Marijuana as a controlled substance and re-invest in communities affected by the racist war on drugs-- to affordable housing legislation and immigration reform to foreign policy-- he's an AIPAC stooge-- and military spending.

Robin Wilt: "In Monroe County, we hear the clarion call for change. Joe Morelle and the policies that he has championed over the last three decades have rendered our community among the most segregated and impoverished in the country. Our movement has emerged to challenge the status quo and demand policies that will improve the lives of everyone, not just his political cronies and the monied elite."

If you would like to see Bernie's program enacted by Congress, it is incumbent on all of us to help support and elect candidates who back it. Robin Wilt is one of them and you can contribute to her on our Bernie Congress page, which can be accessed by clicking on the thermometer on the right.

Robin Wilt For Congress (NY-25)

Not every member of Congress can be AOC or even earn an A for their voting records. In fact, ProgressivePunch only has 46 "A" ratings right now. 7 of them are for New York Democrats-- but Rochester freshman Joseph Morelle isn't one of them. Unfortunately, he's not among the members with "B"... nor "C" nor even "D." Morelle, in a solidly safe blue district (PVI is D+8)-- Obama won both times with 59% and even Hillary beat Trump in the district 55.5% to 39.1%-- still managed to work up a voting record that scored an "F," one of only 7 New York Democrats with that disgraceful of a record.

The New York primary will see Morelle facing off against a real progressive-- Brighton Town Councilwoman Robin Wilt, who Blue America is endorsing today. Take a look at her issues pages. She's a straight down the line working-family-supporting Berniecrat: housing as a human right, Medicare-for-All, criminal justice reform, equitable education for all, Climate Justice and so on. I asked Robin to introduce herself. She wrote this and made the video below. If you like what she has to say, please kick in what you can by clicking on the ActBlue 2020 congressional thermometer below.

An America As Good As Its Promise
-by Robin Wilt

My father immigrated to the United States from Guyana, South America, in 1968--the very year that the Fair Housing Act passed Congress. He came to the United States because he believed in the promise of the American Dream. It was a time of incredible racial strife in our country and our community. What my father refused to accept--and this was actually fortunate for him because his pioneering spirit remained undeterred-- was that, for far too many, the American Dream is a dream deferred. America is failing to live up to its basic promise of justice for all.

My father committed to holding America accountable for the values that it promulgated around the world. He came to this country with $40 in his pocket because he believed, as do I now, what Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, of Texas, understood, “What the people want is very simple-- they want an America as good as its promise.”

In search of better educational opportunity, our family moved to the comfortable community of Pittsford in 1976. Naively, I did not appreciate growing up what a pioneering move that was. I don’t think it was any coincidence that my father purchased land and had his house built from the ground up. Quite frankly, as a Black man, it was easier to build from scratch than to trust any of the housing developments at the time to offer him equitable terms.

What I also did not appreciate was that the pioneering spirit and sense of equity and fairness that my father instilled in me would be my guiding principle as I run for Congress today. Although the 25th Congressional District entirely encompasses the City of Rochester-- which is 42% African American-- the district has never been represented by a person of color. A recent study by the financial company 24/7 Wall Street found that the 25th Congressional District is the second worst Congressional District in the country when it comes to the quality of life for African Americans. The rampant and unsustainable wealth, educational and healthcare disparities that we witness in the 25th congressional district are largely the outcome of policies that were championed by the existing political establishment-- of which, as a 30 year incumbent of the state Legislature and a former Monroe County Democratic Committee Chair, my opponent has been a significant part. I recognize that the policies perpetuating wealth and opportunity disparities is a key electoral issue facing our district, and I’m running because I truly believe that we deserve better and can do better!

Ultimately, that is why I am running for Congress. I’m running for the people of the 25th congressional district who deserve to have people-centered policies that work for all of us. I have spent the last decade and a half working on the grassroots level to promote social, economic and environmental justice. I share the narrative of my father and our family’s immigration story because I want to highlight the structures that are in play, to this day, that reinforce disparate outcomes for people in our community based on race, class, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Ultimately, we want an America where an immigrant family, like mine, that got by eating government cheese, can go on to attend the nation’s best colleges and universities, and achieve their full potential.

What I have learned from talking to people who are most directly impacted by our systems, is that these unjust systems that threaten our democracy are working exactly as intended. What that means is that our systems that are disproportionately impacting certain communities need to be fundamentally reimagined, so that they are grounded in equity and justice. I’m committed to fighting for equity and access for all. I believe that there can be no true economic equity and access to opportunity in our community until we put worker’s rights, access to education, health and overall welfare of the people over corporate welfare. Corporations are not people and my opponent, a true establishment, status quo candidate, is funded by corporate PACS and organizations that are publicly against just, human policies such as Medicare for All, and the Green New Deal-- both of which my opponent has not publicly supported.

As an activist, I publicly support human rights by fighting for policies that grant access to healthcare in the form of Expanded and Improved Medicare for All;  climate justice and the creation of a green economy that centers those most impacted by polluters and crumbling infrastructure; equity in education and an end to the school-to-prison pipeline; and criminal justice reform, decarceration and an end to the prison industrial complex. These are all issues that matter to the electorate, who have become increasingly disengaged, and dis-enfranchised. I’m committed to ensuring that members of my community truly feel that their interests are represented through action and relentless commitment to the enactment of equitable policies.  I’m committed to engaging and registering new voters and ensuring that issues that matter to them are represented in the policies I support.

In 2006, I helped co-found a Progressive Democrats of America local chapter because I believe that engagement is the key to achieving outcomes that benefit everyone in our community. A healthcare Town Hall that we staged drew an attendance of 500 people and featured two sitting members of Congress. My stance on important issues is usually strongly influenced by the voices of my constituents and their individual stories. In my run for office, I’ve had the honor of connecting with those closest to the pain of being underrepresented by their elected officials, and I’ve witnessed the unfortunate results.

Our current political leadership, through its malign neglect of the communities that are most vulnerable, relegates us to the unjust status quo. There have already been comparisons between this race and that of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her historic win over the establishment candidate in Queens. As in the case of AOC, we are taking on not only an individual incumbent, but one that built the Democratic Party establishment in Monroe County. I am accustomed to challenging unjust systems because it is what I have done my entire life. I will concede that the race between myself and my opponent is similar to AOC when she bested Crowley, but what AOC did was steal a march on the establishment. In this race, they know we’re coming. And we’re glad they know we’re coming. We, with the power of the people, fully intend to storm the establishment gates.

Monroe County deserves representation that is committed to serving the people in our communities--not merely the party establishment, or corporate donors. Monroe County deserves representation that reflects the diversity of the 25th Congressional District. The House of Representatives is the People’s House. And we won’t rest until the Power resides with the People!

New York Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle Is Running To Replace Louise Slaughter

NY-25 is completely within Monroe County. It includes Rochester, the Rochester suburbs and the towns of Penfield, Henrietta, Brighton, Brockport, Greece and Irondequot. The PVI is D+8. Obama won the district by around 20 points both times he ran and Hillary beat Trumpanzee 55.5% to 39,1%, Trump's second worst performance, by one point, in upstate New York. Louise Slaughter had represented the district for 3 decades when she died last week.

The immediate frontrunner for the seat is the majority leader of the state Assembly, Joe Morelle, who officially announced his campaign yesterday. It looks like he'll be in a primary contest with Brighton Town Board Member Robin Wilt, Rochester School Board President Van White, former TV reporter Rachel Barnhart and Rochester businessman Andrew Gilchrist. Candidates have until April 12 to get 1,250 signatures from party members.

When Morelle announced Monday morning at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Meeting Hall, he said "I'm a progressive Democrat," which is borne out by his record. "I care about working men and women. I care about healthcare, making it affordable and accessible for everyone. Those are the kinds of things I've always believed in and I'm willing to go out and talk to people."

Governor Andrew Cuomo has to call a special election to fill the remainder of Slaughter's term, although he can set the special election for the same day as the November general election. The New York primary is June 26. Morelle can proudly step forward with an "F" rating from the NRA and an "A" rating from the AFL-CIO. Neurosurgeon Jim Maxwell is the only Republican in the race.