10/24/22
Today’s post will conclude our gubernatorial candidates series. If elected, whose footsteps will the candidates follow? It will be Governor Pataki for Mr. Zeldin and Governor Mario Cuomo for Ms. Hochul, as they are the best governors in the opinion of the republican and democratic gubernatorial candidates, respectively.
To know more about the gubernatorial candidates’ policies and positions on a variety of issues, you can watch their first and only scheduled public debate tomorrow night at 7pm in Pace University, which will be aired on Spectrum NY1.
10/14/22
According to Mr. Zeldin, the current three-persons-in-a-room approach needs to end. He would involve more rank-and-file state legislators in the budget process and the crafting of legislation. He also supports term limits in government, limiting to two terms of four years each. He would add press conferences to increase transparency.
Ms. Hochul proposes to continue what she has done with the FOIL requests, unleashing information, releasing taxes, releasing schedules and informing people how decisions are made. She also proposes to set up a database for economic development projects so people can look up the data and find out whether the public investment is getting the return on the dollar that was promised.
10/10/22
The last day to register to vote in person is this coming Friday, October 14, 2022, which is also the last day to postmark application for registering to vote.
10/7/22
How will the gubernatorial candidates stop New York from bleeding residents?
Ms. Hochul is finding ways to cut the tax burden, such as expediting the middle-class tax cut and giving property tax relief.
Mr. Zeldin will work on reversing the attacks on wallets, safety, freedom and quality of education.
10/5/22
How will the gubernatorial candidates revive New York’s subway system: increase state funding, raise fares or cut service?
Mr. Zeldin proposes to focus on subway security to increase ridership, thereby stabilizing the finances of public transit.
Ms. Hochul hopes to generate revenues with congestion pricing, without fare increase.
10/2/22
9/30/22
How to address elevated crime in New York’s cities?
Mr. Zeldin will repeal cashless bail and give back the decision to judges, in addition to supporting law enforcement.
Ms. Hochul’s focus will be on gun safety, not just on mass shootings but the everyday street shootings.
9/27/22
Mr. Zeldin opposes banning all gas hookups on new construction statewide and advocates safe extraction of natural resources from the Marcellus and Utica Shales.
9/26/22
9/21/22
Thanks to our three volunteers, we had a good voter registration event at the center of Flushing on Monday (see the front page). We gave out flyers containing voter registration information with Chinese translation (see above). One of the volunteers also distributed about 100 flyers to students in his school district for them to take back to their Chinese-speaking family members and neighbors.
9/16/22
Hi, it has been a long time since our last blog post. We are working on multiple initiatives and will report back soon. In the meantime, please spread the word that we will have a voter registration event at Queens Public Library at Flushing this coming Monday (9/19) at 5:45-8pm. If you are interested in volunteering, please email us at atooinc3@gmail.com.
2/21
Hi, I’m coming back during this Mid-Winter break to launch a new initiative for this blog. Before the midterm elections, there is quite a lull in election news. l’m going to be talking about general politics on a thrice-weekly basis, so stay tuned!
Gerrymandering and Redistricting are two ways that political parties in control can solidify their power. You can head over to FAQs about voting for an in-depth explanation of these terms. These methods aren’t limited to any one political party, both can be guilty of this. Most recently, in new NYC congressional maps (drawn up by the Democrats), Park Slope, a predominantly liberal district, was being merged with the more conservative Staten Island. This has the effect of tilting the scales toward the Democrats in the next midterm election, something residents say is equivalent to “silencing the Staten Island vote.” Either way, tensions run high in the 11th district, and the candidates will have to find a way to appeal to voters on all sides of the political spectrum.
10/23
The NYC mayoral debate happened recently between Curtis Silwa and Eric Adams. They both brought up Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal employees, with Eric Adams in mild support and Silwa vehemently against. There was also a heated argument about lies, given Silwa’s admission that his Guardian Angels organization faked crimes, and Adam’s secrecy about his residency (he refuses to disclose how much time he actually spends at his Brooklyn apartment). As I talked about in my post last week, Adams opposes de Blasio’s attempts to end the gifted and talented programs in NYC. Silwa also voiced his opposition in the debate. Rikers Island has been the subject of many inmate-abuse controversies, and Adams is in support of de Blasio’s plan to phase out the prison. Yet Silwa claimed he would even move there and live in the warden’s house, to give support to the correctional officers. Adams has faced criticism in the past for his association with the rich at exclusive clubs/venues, while Silwa maintains his status as a people’s candidate. We’ll have to see how they conduct themselves at the next mayoral debate, as well as hear what other policies they have in store for New York. Have a great day!
10/16
Mayor Deblasio has been against NYC’s Gifted and Talented programs for a long time now, but as he leaves office, he wants the phasing out of these programs to be a part of his legacy. However, in a recent statement, Brooklyn Borough president Eric Adams (the presumed next mayor of NYC), said that it is not his intention to end these programs. Deblasio is essentially a lame duck mayor, meaning that any policies he supports against Adams would mostly be an obstruction of the people’s will. The programs will stay in place until next school year, and Adams will take office on January 1st, 2022. It is unlikely that Deblasio will be able to completely end the G&T programs. I’ll have some more info soon about what actually is going to happen to this programs later.
10/2
Welcome to the month of October everyone! Right now the political scene is pretty quiet, with the Mayoral Election and City Council Elections coming to a quiet close in a month’s time. I’ll try to focus on some more nationwide news in the coming weeks.
7/17
Hello everyone, I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I know that the general election doesn’t seem to be as exciting as the Democratic and Republican primaries, but there’s a lot that we can learn about the two candidate’s policies if they get elected. Adams and Silwa are both active in campaigning, and we’ll have to see how it turns out. Now for news that I found interesting: Adams says that if he becomes mayor, he will try to rename streets and buildings that honor slaveowners. He also said that they will also try to rename streets in honor of more prominent Asian Americans. Silwa slammed Adams for being to soft on crime and gun violence, citing Adam’s earlier comments on a summer jobs program to curb gun violence.
The general election is often considered only a formality because New York City is deeply blue, and it would take a scandal or real societal upheaval for Silwa to win. I will try to cover the main policies that the candidates will try to implement.
7/11
I have updated some of the formatting of this blog to make it easier to read. One of the takeaways that NYC had during this election season was the success of ranked choice voting in carrying out the will of the people. Even with the incompetence of the BOE, Adams, who received the majority of the first place votes, was still able to win. Maya Wiley, who placed 3rd in the race, noted how the Ranked choice voting did not split the African-American vote, as many had feared. The general election is set to be less competitive, due do how many Democrats are in NYC. Silwa is still campaigning hard, but we will have to see if he can garner enough support from disillusioned voters.
As always, have a nice day!
7/8
Hello everyone, as you know, Eric Adams is now the Democratic nominee for mayor. He will be facing off against Curtis Silwa in the general election, which will occur on November 2, 2021. I have already went over most of their platforms, which you can check out below. I will be updating the site with important news, but in the meantime, I will try to have another article up on FAQs about Voting by the end of the week.
Have an excellent day!
7/5
I hope everyone had a great July 4th, there are not many election news updates. I just wanted to highlight something that I thought was interesting. It was pretty well known that Eric Adams won a majority of the African-American and Latino vote, with almost 45% to 75%. Maya Wiley, although African American herself, mostly garnered votes from white far-left and progressive areas of NYC, while Garcia appealed to the affluent gentry of Manhattan. This could have been a snapshot of how NYC residents felt about the De Blasio administration (Wiley and Garcia were both involved), but it mostly boiled down into issues over defunding the police. Adams took a stance against depolicing, while Wiley and Garcia supported it. From the data, it was pretty clear that the majority of African Americans and Latinos in NYC, who are disproportionately affected by the increase in crime, are actually against radical measures to defund the police. Closer to home, many Chinese and Asian voters supported Andrew Yang, who was also against defunding the police. On the other hand, the majority of affluent white voters, and progressive young individuals were more supportive of defunding the police. This election maybe provides a window into how people of color really feel about radical police reform.
Have a nice day, and stay safe!
7/3
I’m wishing everyone a happy July Fourth tomorrow, don’t really have much to say about any elections at the moment. Adams, Wiley, and Garcia have all taken legal action against the BOE to reserve the right to do a recount of the votes, given the problems that have arisen during this election season. The race will be decided by the 125,000 absentee ballots, as Garcia only trails Adams by 14,755 and Wiley trails Garcia by 347. Have a nice day, and I’ll post here for any more updates.
7/1
Hi, we are back from our break, and the mayoral election has been pretty hectic. There is an extremely close race, with Adams and Garcia being separated by less than 2 percentage points. However, there is a major problem with the results that may impede the results for weeks. The Elections Board counted 135,000 test ballots, throwing a cloud of uncertainty over the validity of the current results. The candidates have slammed the Board for repeated failures over many years, and there will definitely be calls for a recount. We will have to see how this plays out. In the meantime, there is a new entry in FAQs about Voting, this time about the controversy over Voter ID laws.
Side Note: I have reorganized the FAQs about Voting page to show more recent posts at the top.
Have a great day!
6/28
Hello everyone, hopefully everyone is doing well. Currently, the staff of Atooinc are on vacation, and will be until 7/1. I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to navigate to this site to learn some more about the election and voting processes. Although I am on vacation, I am still working on more informational posts to put on the FAQs About Voting page of this website. The NYC Democratic primary results will probably be out by 6/29, and then we will prepare for an exciting mayoral election.
Have a nice day!
6/23
I hope everyone has had an enjoyable day yesterday. The primaries are over, but the full results may not come out until much later because of absentee ballots and ranked choice voting. Adams is leading with about 30% of the vote, compared to only 21% for Maya Wiley, who is in second place. Garcia is not far behind Wiley with 20% of the vote, leaving much opportunity for variation as NYC moves into its successive rounds of ranked choice voting. Yang is lagging behind with only 11% of the vote and has since conceded.
When looking at the demographics, it was clear that this was an example of coalition politics. Adams took neighborhoods with majority Black and Hispanic populations, like parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Southern Queens. Yang was very strong in Queens areas with a large Asian-American population. Garcia polled well in Manhattan. Wiley took upper Brooklyn. It all came down to the numbers, and the rest just didn’t have enough. Unless something unexpected happens, it looks like that Adams will be the Democratic nominee for the NYC Mayoral election. On another note, Curtis Sliwa won the Republican Primary.
As always, stay safe, and have a nice day.
6/21
The primaries are tomorrow, and this last weekend of campaigning has been very exciting. Since the city is doing ranked-choice voting, the candidates have changed their strategies in order to get as many second and third place votes from their competitors’ voters. Not all of them seem to be very happy about the current system, and Eric Adams has criticized Garcia and Yang for “teaming up to prevent a Black or Latino person from becoming mayor.” There seems to be a discontinuity in the logic, as candidates teaming up is not a new phenomenon. Candidates campaign together to have a higher chance of winning, which will indirectly prevent anyone else to become mayor, whether they be Black, Asian, White, or Latino. There were also talks between the McGuire and Garcia campaigns for a cross-endorsement, but it eventually fell through. I recently heard on NPR that someone was complaining about ranked choice voting, and that the Yang-Garcia “team” was gaming the system. He claimed that it was all within “self-interest.” Near the end of every close race, there is always a lot of drama. I do feel that many people have been alienated by the joint campaigning, so we will have to see how it reflects in the polls.
I’ll take a small look at the Republican Primary, which is much simpler. There are only 2 candidates, who have made many personal attacks against each other. Sliwa and Mateo point to rising crime and the housing crisis as their path to the mayorship, even though Republicans are outnumbered seven to one in NYC.
Make sure to stay informed about the mayoral race, and find your own opinion on Ranked Choice Voting and its effects. Do you think Yang and Garcia have a winning strategy, or will they alienate NYC voters? Have a nice rest of the day, and stay safe!
6/19
Hello everyone, hopefully you are having a wonderful day. There are less than 3 days to go until the primaries, and early voting is already underway. Turnout seems to be slightly low at the moment for early voting, so if you’re planning to vote, I would suggest to vote early to free up some space at the polling places. As of now, it seems that Adams has a slight lead, with Wiley, Garcia, and Yang close behind. Of course, 20% of voters are undecided, meaning that anything might happen. I’ll continue to update the page with any information that may come up.
6/18
I have edited and finished my remarks about the mayoral debate, and I also encourage you to check out my explanation of Ranked Choice voting in the FAQs about Voting section of this site. Its introduction lends a lot of uncertainty into the race, someone who is ahead in the first place votes might lose because they are not ranked second or third enough. Make sure to fill up your ballot to make sure your vote counts!
6/17
Yesterday was the final mayoral debate, something which should have cleared up many issues and solidified the candidates’ views. However, only 5 days before the primary, many could not give clear responses about what they would do about homelessness, the economy, and climate change. The poll numbers mostly stayed the same as before, despite some attempts by the candidates, any attacks that they made really weren’t that effective. Some notable barbs: Yang attacked Adams for his “bring a gun to church” plan, while Adams fired back with saying that his UBI plan would only amount to $5 a day; Morales claimed that Raymond J. McGuire couldn’t speak for the black and brown community, while he replied that he could and would. Eric Adams seems to be in the lead, but each candidate has a devoted following.
Important issues:
1. Environment: Every candidate had a commitment to protect the environment, the general consensus was to stop subsidizing the oil and gas industries and to move to renewable energy.
2. Housing: Most candidates agree that more housing needs to be built, we are in a housing crisis with the highest rates of evictions and homelessness yet. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic, but the issue still highlighted some divisions among the candidates. The majority of the candidates propose affordable housing programs that combat the rising prices in many neighborhoods. Yang criticized the “political” rhetoric and said that they were overlooking what was happening in the communities themselves.
3. Mental Illness: Andrew Yang drew criticism by saying “mentally ill homeless men are changing the character of our neighborhoods.” This was in the context of housing, and he continued on to say that Asian-Americans have been the victims of an increase in violence from mentally ill individuals during the pandemic. This is a highly charged issue, as many of the other candidates advocated for increased outreach services or a decriminalization of mental illness in the eyes of the public. It will be interesting to see how the Asian-American community responds to this rhetoric, as both sides do have some truth to them.
4. Crime/Racial Injustice: As I mentioned in the introduction, there is some division over the slogan “defund the police,” and what that actually means. Everyone mostly stayed true to their platform about what they will do to combat racial injustice and fight the increase in crime.
6/13
I have completed all the summaries/commentaries, and I hope they will be informative. I am now working on revamping the FAQs about Voting page and bringing it up-to-date.
6/05
Just an update, I have been regularly adding more candidates and information about them as I conduct comprehensive research. Of course, more information can be found on their websites, this list has the aim of giving you an in-depth summary of their background and beliefs.
5/29
Hi, I will continue to update the list of issues and candidates below, so you can be more informed. Take a look and see which ones have a platform that resonates with you.
5/28
Hello everyone, this is Michael Chan, back after a long hiatus due to school. However, the work that we do at Atooinc never stops. The next election is right around the corner, taking place inside our base of operations, New York City. The mayoral election is set to have an unprecedented number of candidates in both parties, and here I’ll go over a few of the candidates and their main platforms. As always, all discussion will be neutral and focus on the myriad issues at hand.
Republicans
- Fernando Mateo
An esteemed entrepreneur and a community leader, Mateo has been working for years to improve the lives of New York City residents, whether it be through his work on anti-crime programs like “Toys for Guns,” or through the revitalization of upper Manhattan into a major economic magnet. He has a simple but varied platform, focusing on traditional Republican issues like blue-collar jobs and defeating “Big Government.” Painting Democrat divisiveness as the cause of the downturn of the City, he says he will make NYC safer, cleaner, and better for the workers. The Republican base may also resonate with policies to remove the environmentally friendly CitiBikes, as well as install police officers on every train station. My conclusion is that Mateo, although coming from outside City Hall, is following the same economic policies and rhetoric as the rest of the Republican Party across the country. He doesn’t seem to be concerned about bipartisanship, and it will be interesting to see how he will fare in a city that has a majority Democrat population.
- Curtis Sliwa
The other Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, is also someone who has made a large impact in his community. Founder of the Guardian Angel program, an initiative that utilizes at-risk youth in a positive way by protecting the elderly and women in dangerous neighborhoods. According to himself, he has been a vocal critic of the policies of Bill DeBlasio, “deeming them too far left.” His main concerns are with crime, pledging to “refund the police” and to “safeguard our subways.” Drawing from his experience with the Guardian Angels, who helped patrol the subways to protect against violent crimes, he vows to put a stop to the crimes against Asian-Americans and the overall increase in crime over 2020. Curtis Sliwa has also been a critic of former President Donald Trump, something that might put him at odds with part of his Republican constituency. Mateo, his rival, has been openly endorsed by former Trump administration aides. Sliwa also criticizes the young generation of liberal activists for many of the problems in today’s society, maybe alienating young voters. I think that his policies will resonate with many voters regardless of political affiliation, but again, his success will be dependent on whether he can win the Republican primary and how many Democrat voters he can flip.
Democrats
- Eric Adams
Eric Adams comes from a long and distinguished career in the NYPD, rising to the rank of captain and revolutionizing the way crimes are tracked with computer systems. However, his main impact has been through combating systemic racism and biases from within the force. He has founded 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, an organization dedicated to stopping abuses of power against the African-American/minority community (like eliminating stop-and-frisk). Adams also displays ample experience in politics, currently the Brooklyn Borough President and a former state Senator. Adams has a comprehensive platform that seeks to address the rampant inequality in the city. His approach to government and the economy both involve the use of technology, with the aim of creating a more efficient system that can help more people more quickly. Most of his initiatives can be described with the words “Big Government,” defined as the government utilizing its resources to directly help the population. The relationship between police and inequality is a major issue during this election, as well as the spikes in crime during the pandemic. Adams pledges to retain and support the police, but also increase community involvement. In conclusion, Adams is a strong candidate that has support, but anything might happen in a competitive primary.
- Shaun Donovan
Donovan has a wealth of political experience, having served in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He also served in the Clinton Administration, as well as more recently in NYC as the Commissioner of the Department of Housing under the Bloomberg Administration. Donovan has a large amount of experience in government and politics, among the highest in the competitive race. His policies are quite comprehensive, focusing on the major issues of the future and housing. His background in housing administration gives him an advantage in this field, proposing “emergency rental assistance” as the key to reducing homelessness and the housing crisis. After an unforeseen event such as the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of New Yorkers were suddenly left without income and defaulted on their rental payments. His plan would try to prevent incidents like these from happening again. He has many other issues that he plans to address, many of which cannot be listed here. Even so, Donovan does not seem to be doing well in the polls, maybe due a lack of popularity or charisma. We will have to see how he fares in the upcoming Democratic primary.
- Kathryn Garcia
Kathryn Garcia has been involved in helping NYC for more than 14 years as the commissioner of the Department of Sanitation. She comes from a diverse background, growing up white and adopted in a multiracial family. She didn’t let the challenges that she faced as a child faze her; time and time again she has shown herself to be a leader. Whether it be through the reduction of lead poisonings in NYC housing, or through handling the Covid-19 pandemic, she has taken charge successfully on a variety of issues. Her platform, like almost all the other candidates, is comprehensive, but its main goal is the recovery, health, and safety of New York. Policies like simultaneous police reform and crime reduction, as well as equitable education and housing, are one of her many focuses. Her success in this Democratic primary will be contingent on whether she can sell her experience in politics; Garcia must also show how her platform is different from the many others in the race.
- Raymond J. McGuire
Raymond McGuire is a CitiGroup executive, and one of the highest ranking African Americans on Wall Street. He comes from a humble background, growing up poor and eventually rising up the ranks through education and resilience. As his background is in economics, McGuire is proposing a plan to revamp the housing system and to revitalize NYC’s economy. At the heart of the Comeback program are small businesses, and he plans to freeze sales taxes, rent payments, and permits for a year to take the pressure off of them. He also has a commitment to racial justice, which extends to fixing the race gap in homeownership. This includes preventing foreclosures, lowering construction costs, and increasing access to legal assistance to prevent eviction. Everything he proposed seemed very comprehensive, but the candidate doesn’t seem to have much experience in public service. He came under fire for being out of touch with the average resident after he drastically underestimated the price of a city home recently. We will have to see if he can make himself stand out in a very competitive race.
- Dianne Morales
Dianne prides herself on her commitment to community activism and her experiences as a native New Yorker. She grew up as the daughter of two blue-collar parents, who instilled in her a passion for social work and labor organization. As a former NYC schoolteacher, Morales has campaigned on the lack of equity in NYC schools, more specifically, against both segregation and the ignorance of special-needs children. Her most recent initiative is a training program for the healthcare field, which builds off of her experience working in housing for LGBTQ+ youth. Her platform mostly focuses on inequality, something NYC has a lot of. She blames the government and big corporations for letting down the residents, as the working class struggles to bring the city back to its former glory. She has a unique platform that focuses on interconnected themes instead of individual issues, which include Dignity, Care, and Solidarity. Dignity is a democratization of government and an expansion of equity, which ties into housing for all, LGBTQ+ rights, defunding the police, and support for Unions. Care refers to reducing senior homelessness, improving the healthcare system, and the environment. And Solidarity refers to a wealth tax, community leadership, and free CUNY. She has an organized platform that appeals to the blue-collared worker and a liberal base. We will have to see if she can reach enough voters in this competitive race.
- Scott M. Stringer
Scott Stringer is the current NYC comptroller, the chief financial officer of the City. He has ample experience in politics, and knows how NYC government functions. He was born and raised in NYC, and eventually was elected to the State Assembly, in which he proposed marriage equality, anti-domestic violence, and pro-union legislation. His platform is centered around recovery, whether it be from the economic downturn facing NYC, or the more recent damage of the coronavirus pandemic. He has plans in place to quickly vaccinate every New Yorker to get us through this pandemic, and then utilize those same measures to get us through the next one. The economic side focuses on supporting small businesses (especially minority and women owned), while also reducing wealth disparities and lack of affordable housing. Climate change seems to be a bigger issue here than in some of the other campaigns, as he draws off of his experience defunding fossil fuel companies to pledge to ban all new fossil fuel infrastructure and to make NYC 100% renewable. There are a host of other issues that he is fighting for, but I am unable to list them all here as this is a quick summary. There is a final thing that I wanted to say, and that is about the two sexual harassment allegations made. We at Atooinc stand in solidarity with the women, yet due to a lack of evidence we cannot make a clear statement until an investigation can be made. More objectively, the accusations have hurt his poll numbers and have made him lose key donors, which will make us wait and see how he will fare in the competitive Democratic Primary.
- Maya Wiley
Wiley has a history of activism and breaking barriers, whether it be through acting as a lawyer for the NCAAP or being the Counsel to the Mayor. She has a very progressive platform, and has been endorsed by big names like Elizabeth Warren. Her New Deal New York Program likens itself to the New Deal of Roosevelt, comparing the pandemic’s impact on the economy to the Great Depression. She plans to create many jobs, invest $10 billion into the economy, revitalize NYCHA, and to help black and latinx businesses, which are disproportionally affected. The second is Universal Community Care, which basically affirms that care work and the service industry is important, especially since the people in that field are disproportionally women. It also includes money and grants to these workers, as well as protections and accountability. The last one I’m going to talk about here is Gun Violence Protection, which basically goes into the racial and economic aspects of Gun Violence. The solution, according to her, is not more police, but the empowerment of communities and through education. However, public safety is also important. Wiley has made a name for herself as a competitive progressive candidate for the mayoral race, and if she wins the Democratic primary, she might have a chance to be the first woman mayor of NYC.
- Andrew Yang
Andrew Yang was one of most hyped up candidates for the Democratic nomination, yet lately his inexperience has been dragging him down in the polls. He is a former presidential candidate who made national headlines by campaigning for universal basic income, and he is also a self-made billionaire. His platform is extremely long and comprehensive, having the first part mostly focus on economic recovery and the next on the host of other issues that have plagued the city. The problem with most of his policies is that he dreams big and tries to please a lot of people, yet most of the time he never gives specific amounts. It will be very interesting to see how many of these programs he can actually institute in the way that he is proposing them. The increase of hate crimes against Asian-Americans is an important issue, to which he says that there needs to be increased funding to the NYPD Asian Hate Crime Task Force. Many claim that defunding, instead of funding, is what Yang needs to do to the NYPD, and that the action will only further damage minority neighborhoods. Yang is a charismatic candidate and brings a breath of fresh air into a field of career politicians, yet many think his inexperience, slight conservatism, and privilege will hurt his chances for the mayorship. The prospect of being the first Asian-American mayor of NYC has definitely excited the Asian-American community, a group that historically has low voter turnout (something this organization aims to rectify). We will have to see whether he can push past his barriers in a very competitive race.
9/28
On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg became the first woman (and the first Jewish American) to lie in state at the Capitol Building. She was one of the most influential and vocal justices that have ever served on the Supreme Court, writing powerful dissents that influenced legislation and made her into a role model for young women everywhere. Her life before the court was as a lawyer, arguing and winning multiple cases for gender equality at the Supreme Court itself. RBG’s last wish was that she should not be replaced until after the election, and this is where the controversy starts. It is sad that we cannot honor the lasting legacy of this amazing woman in this current political climate.
A general overview of the problem:
At the end of President Barack Obama’s term as president, Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. It was almost a year before the election, but Senate Republicans opposed finding a replacement, saying, “The election will be a referendum on who the American People want on the Supreme Court.” President Trump won the election, and he put Justice Neils Gorsuch on the bench. Later, after Justice Kennedy retired, he was able to put Justice Cavanough on the bench (with some controversy). Now, he is up to put an unprecedented 3rd Justice on the Supreme Court. There is one problem though. We are almost 1 month away from the election, which is many times less than what President Obama had. This time, Senate Republicans have reversed their position and said that they are going to move forward with replacing Ginsberg with a candidate of President Trump’s choice.
What is happening now?
President Trump now has his Supreme Court Nominee, who is Amy Coney Barrett. She is a conservative woman, which might appeal to his base of Evangelicals. Democrats in the Senate are trying to attack her for her Catholic religious beliefs, which is dangerous because of freedom of religion in this country. If she gets confirmed, this could give a 6-3 conservative majority on the court, which could later overturn the Affordable Care Act, Abortion rights, and Gay marriage. We will have to see how this plays out.
8/30 – (Guest post from the staff)
Before we begin, on behalf of the staff here at A Too, Inc., I would like to extend our congratulations to both President Trump and former Vice-President Biden on their nominations for the Presidency. We also extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families and friends of George Floyd, Elijah McClain, Cannon Hinnant and the 183,000 victims of COVID-19.
The 2020 election is currently being marketed as a showdown of the two sides of American values. President Trump has adopted the slogan “Help Keep America Great” while Biden has cast the election as “A Battle For The Soul Of This Nation”.
Each convention had a unifying theme. The DNC presented an America that has been torn to shreds by President Trump, with speakers such as Senator Duckworth and former President Obama blasting the Commander-in-Chief for his handling of the allegations of bounties on US troops by Russia and the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the RNC attacked the progressive left, showcasing examples of purported bias in mass media and cancel culture. “Law and Order” was a key topic, with appearances from a police officer and a police widow who cast a grim picture of a post-police landscape. And of course, there was the corona-virus. Amid the claims that China created the virus pushed by Senator Tom Cotton (which has been dis-proven by domestic and international scientists), President Trump doubled down on China, presenting it as a threat to American national security that only he is strong enough to combat.
Dystopian seems to be a common theme in both parties’ narratives. On the one hand, the RNC fully rejected the “socialist left” and appealed to the middle-class voters across all races, picturing a dystopian future under “the Left” where the suburbs are invaded by looters and riots while jobs and properties are thrown to a central US Communist Party. On the other hand, the DNC portrayed a dystopian present driven by the Commander-in-Chief, arguing that we need a person with experience, and casting the President’s character/leadership in the past four years, especially in the pandemic, as self-serving and destructive to all but the wealthiest Americans.
While all these statements are far more nuanced than I have time to do justice to in this post, they all appeal to the collective common-sense in some way or another. Now, “common-sense” is a learned entity, built upon years of experience and schooling, and it is how many will vote in November. In this series, I will examine some of the key issues, present the facts, and only the facts, and allow you as the reader to decide for yourself whom you want to elect as your Commander-in-Chief for the next four years.
8/28 – So last night I watched the final day of the Republican National Convention (Day 4), and I just wanted to present some recurring themes in the rhetoric that could help you to digest all that was said. There were three main points, “anti-China,” “law and order,” and “Trump’s kindness.”
The first point was brought up by many of the speakers, saying that “Joe Biden is soft on China” and “the China virus.” China has been a main target of President Trump throughout his four years in office, with the trade war and the forced closure of a Chinese Consulate. But why is China such a target? President Trump (and the other speakers) create a disparity between the democracy of the United States and the cruel control of the Chinese Communist Party. They also make the point that China is stealing American jobs from the blue collar workers, which comprises a large part of the President’s base.
Another theme from the speeches was law and order. With the outrage over police killings of George Floyd and many others, some have tried to undermine the sentiment of the protesters through looting and pillaging. Speakers like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the President of the Police Benevolent Association of NYC Patrick Lynch portrayed how defunding the police would lead to more crime and hurt the ability of the police to work effectively. In particular, Giuliani spoke about how the administration of the Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio has caused New York City crime levels to skyrocket. He likened this situation to a prospective United States run by Joe Biden and the other Democrats.
The last point that I would like to address is the persona that President Trump adopted during this convention. Throughout his presidency, he has appeared to be a brash figure, promising to be tough on crime, illegal immigration, and people “living off welfare.” However, we saw an empathy for the American people that we have not seen before. Alice Johnson, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for a first-time drug offense, tearfully told us how President Trump heard about her situation and officially pardoned her. President’s daughter Ivanka Trump said that he passed “one of the greatest criminal justice reforms of our generation” to reunite many inmates with their loved ones. Finally, Trump himself stated that he would protect those with preexisting conditions under welfare and Social Security. In closing, I just wanted to say that there were many other small references in the speeches that would appeal to the president’s base. For example, the commitment to pro-life and anti-gay marriage is clearly directed towards evangelicals. Although some may say that the Administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was criminal, the video clips aired during RNC demonstrated the President’s commitment to science and helping the American people through the pandemic. Whatever the statements, there was a clear narrative brought to the table.
I will summarize the Democratic National Convention in the next post. Please stay tuned!
Introduction: My name is Michael Chan, and today (8/27) is the first day of this blog! I am currently a rising junior at Stuyvesant High School and one of the founders of AToo.inc. Of course, that information can just be found in our about page. Why have I started writing at seemingly random time of the year? Today is the last day of the Republican National Convention, and President Trump has now been confirmed as the Republican presidential nominee. With both candidates confirmed, now the real battle starts. My objective is to keep this blog non-partisan; I want it to be a reflection of my views on voting. However, I am a person with my own political leanings, which may shine through at some points in this blog. There are two things I’ll be writing about: voting and current political events. Hopefully you’ll enjoy what I’m writing and also learn somethingWe
10/24/22
Today will be our last poster of our gubernatorial candidates series.
10/14/22
According to Mr. Zeldin, the current three-persons-in-a-room approach needs to end. He would involve more rank-and-file state legislators in the budget process and the crafting of legislation. He also supports term limits in government, limiting to two terms of four years each. He would add press conferences to increase transparency.
Ms. Hochul proposes to continue what she has done with the FOIL requests, unleashing information, releasing taxes, releasing schedules and informing people how decisions are made. She also proposes to set up a database for economic development projects so people can look up the data and find out whether the public investment is getting the return on the dollar that was promised.
10/10/22
The last day to register to vote in person is this coming Friday, October 14, 2022, which is also the last day to postmark application for registering to vote.
10/7/22
How will the gubernatorial candidates stop New York from bleeding residents?
Ms. Hochul is finding ways to cut the tax burden, such as expediting the middle-class tax cut and giving property tax relief.
Mr. Zeldin will work on reversing the attacks on wallets, safety, freedom and quality of education.
10/5/22
How will the gubernatorial candidates revive New York’s subway system: increase state funding, raise fares or cut service?
Mr. Zeldin proposes to focus on subway security to increase ridership, thereby stabilizing the finances of public transit.
Ms. Hochul hopes to generate revenues with congestion pricing, without fare increase.
10/2/22
9/30/22
How to address elevated crime in New York’s cities?
Mr. Zeldin will repeal cashless bail and give back the decision to judges, in addition to supporting law enforcement.
Ms. Hochul’s focus will be on gun safety, not just on mass shootings but the everyday street shootings.
9/27/22
Mr. Zeldin opposes banning all gas hookups on new construction statewide and advocates safe extraction of natural resources from the Marcellus and Utica Shales.
9/26/22
9/21/22
Thanks to our three volunteers, we had a good voter registration event at the center of Flushing on Monday (see the front page). We gave out flyers containing voter registration information with Chinese translation (see above). One of the volunteers also distributed about 100 flyers to students in his school district for them to take back to their Chinese-speaking family members and neighbors.
9/16/22
Hi, it has been a long time since our last blog post. We are working on multiple initiatives and will report back soon. In the meantime, please spread the word that we will have a voter registration event at Queens Public Library at Flushing this coming Monday (9/19) at 5:45-8pm. If you are interested in volunteering, please email us at atooinc3@gmail.com.
2/21
Hi, I’m coming back during this Mid-Winter break to launch a new initiative for this blog. Before the midterm elections, there is quite a lull in election news. l’m going to be talking about general politics on a thrice-weekly basis, so stay tuned!
Gerrymandering and Redistricting are two ways that political parties in control can solidify their power. You can head over to FAQs about voting for an in-depth explanation of these terms. These methods aren’t limited to any one political party, both can be guilty of this. Most recently, in new NYC congressional maps (drawn up by the Democrats), Park Slope, a predominantly liberal district, was being merged with the more conservative Staten Island. This has the effect of tilting the scales toward the Democrats in the next midterm election, something residents say is equivalent to “silencing the Staten Island vote.” Either way, tensions run high in the 11th district, and the candidates will have to find a way to appeal to voters on all sides of the political spectrum.
10/23
The NYC mayoral debate happened recently between Curtis Silwa and Eric Adams. They both brought up Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal employees, with Eric Adams in mild support and Silwa vehemently against. There was also a heated argument about lies, given Silwa’s admission that his Guardian Angels organization faked crimes, and Adam’s secrecy about his residency (he refuses to disclose how much time he actually spends at his Brooklyn apartment). As I talked about in my post last week, Adams opposes de Blasio’s attempts to end the gifted and talented programs in NYC. Silwa also voiced his opposition in the debate. Rikers Island has been the subject of many inmate-abuse controversies, and Adams is in support of de Blasio’s plan to phase out the prison. Yet Silwa claimed he would even move there and live in the warden’s house, to give support to the correctional officers. Adams has faced criticism in the past for his association with the rich at exclusive clubs/venues, while Silwa maintains his status as a people’s candidate. We’ll have to see how they conduct themselves at the next mayoral debate, as well as hear what other policies they have in store for New York. Have a great day!
10/16
Mayor Deblasio has been against NYC’s Gifted and Talented programs for a long time now, but as he leaves office, he wants the phasing out of these programs to be a part of his legacy. However, in a recent statement, Brooklyn Borough president Eric Adams (the presumed next mayor of NYC), said that it is not his intention to end these programs. Deblasio is essentially a lame duck mayor, meaning that any policies he supports against Adams would mostly be an obstruction of the people’s will. The programs will stay in place until next school year, and Adams will take office on January 1st, 2022. It is unlikely that Deblasio will be able to completely end the G&T programs. I’ll have some more info soon about what actually is going to happen to this programs later.
10/2
Welcome to the month of October everyone! Right now the political scene is pretty quiet, with the Mayoral Election and City Council Elections coming to a quiet close in a month’s time. I’ll try to focus on some more nationwide news in the coming weeks.
7/17
Hello everyone, I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I know that the general election doesn’t seem to be as exciting as the Democratic and Republican primaries, but there’s a lot that we can learn about the two candidate’s policies if they get elected. Adams and Silwa are both active in campaigning, and we’ll have to see how it turns out. Now for news that I found interesting: Adams says that if he becomes mayor, he will try to rename streets and buildings that honor slaveowners. He also said that they will also try to rename streets in honor of more prominent Asian Americans. Silwa slammed Adams for being to soft on crime and gun violence, citing Adam’s earlier comments on a summer jobs program to curb gun violence.
The general election is often considered only a formality because New York City is deeply blue, and it would take a scandal or real societal upheaval for Silwa to win. I will try to cover the main policies that the candidates will try to implement.
7/11
I have updated some of the formatting of this blog to make it easier to read. One of the takeaways that NYC had during this election season was the success of ranked choice voting in carrying out the will of the people. Even with the incompetence of the BOE, Adams, who received the majority of the first place votes, was still able to win. Maya Wiley, who placed 3rd in the race, noted how the Ranked choice voting did not split the African-American vote, as many had feared. The general election is set to be less competitive, due do how many Democrats are in NYC. Silwa is still campaigning hard, but we will have to see if he can garner enough support from disillusioned voters.
As always, have a nice day!
7/8
Hello everyone, as you know, Eric Adams is now the Democratic nominee for mayor. He will be facing off against Curtis Silwa in the general election, which will occur on November 2, 2021. I have already went over most of their platforms, which you can check out below. I will be updating the site with important news, but in the meantime, I will try to have another article up on FAQs about Voting by the end of the week.
Have an excellent day!
7/5
I hope everyone had a great July 4th, there are not many election news updates. I just wanted to highlight something that I thought was interesting. It was pretty well known that Eric Adams won a majority of the African-American and Latino vote, with almost 45% to 75%. Maya Wiley, although African American herself, mostly garnered votes from white far-left and progressive areas of NYC, while Garcia appealed to the affluent gentry of Manhattan. This could have been a snapshot of how NYC residents felt about the De Blasio administration (Wiley and Garcia were both involved), but it mostly boiled down into issues over defunding the police. Adams took a stance against depolicing, while Wiley and Garcia supported it. From the data, it was pretty clear that the majority of African Americans and Latinos in NYC, who are disproportionately affected by the increase in crime, are actually against radical measures to defund the police. Closer to home, many Chinese and Asian voters supported Andrew Yang, who was also against defunding the police. On the other hand, the majority of affluent white voters, and progressive young individuals were more supportive of defunding the police. This election maybe provides a window into how people of color really feel about radical police reform.
Have a nice day, and stay safe!
7/3
I’m wishing everyone a happy July Fourth tomorrow, don’t really have much to say about any elections at the moment. Adams, Wiley, and Garcia have all taken legal action against the BOE to reserve the right to do a recount of the votes, given the problems that have arisen during this election season. The race will be decided by the 125,000 absentee ballots, as Garcia only trails Adams by 14,755 and Wiley trails Garcia by 347. Have a nice day, and I’ll post here for any more updates.
7/1
Hi, we are back from our break, and the mayoral election has been pretty hectic. There is an extremely close race, with Adams and Garcia being separated by less than 2 percentage points. However, there is a major problem with the results that may impede the results for weeks. The Elections Board counted 135,000 test ballots, throwing a cloud of uncertainty over the validity of the current results. The candidates have slammed the Board for repeated failures over many years, and there will definitely be calls for a recount. We will have to see how this plays out. In the meantime, there is a new entry in FAQs about Voting, this time about the controversy over Voter ID laws.
Side Note: I have reorganized the FAQs about Voting page to show more recent posts at the top.
Have a great day!
6/28
Hello everyone, hopefully everyone is doing well. Currently, the staff of Atooinc are on vacation, and will be until 7/1. I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to navigate to this site to learn some more about the election and voting processes. Although I am on vacation, I am still working on more informational posts to put on the FAQs About Voting page of this website. The NYC Democratic primary results will probably be out by 6/29, and then we will prepare for an exciting mayoral election.
Have a nice day!
6/23
I hope everyone has had an enjoyable day yesterday. The primaries are over, but the full results may not come out until much later because of absentee ballots and ranked choice voting. Adams is leading with about 30% of the vote, compared to only 21% for Maya Wiley, who is in second place. Garcia is not far behind Wiley with 20% of the vote, leaving much opportunity for variation as NYC moves into its successive rounds of ranked choice voting. Yang is lagging behind with only 11% of the vote and has since conceded.
When looking at the demographics, it was clear that this was an example of coalition politics. Adams took neighborhoods with majority Black and Hispanic populations, like parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Southern Queens. Yang was very strong in Queens areas with a large Asian-American population. Garcia polled well in Manhattan. Wiley took upper Brooklyn. It all came down to the numbers, and the rest just didn’t have enough. Unless something unexpected happens, it looks like that Adams will be the Democratic nominee for the NYC Mayoral election. On another note, Curtis Sliwa won the Republican Primary.
As always, stay safe, and have a nice day.
6/21
The primaries are tomorrow, and this last weekend of campaigning has been very exciting. Since the city is doing ranked-choice voting, the candidates have changed their strategies in order to get as many second and third place votes from their competitors’ voters. Not all of them seem to be very happy about the current system, and Eric Adams has criticized Garcia and Yang for “teaming up to prevent a Black or Latino person from becoming mayor.” There seems to be a discontinuity in the logic, as candidates teaming up is not a new phenomenon. Candidates campaign together to have a higher chance of winning, which will indirectly prevent anyone else to become mayor, whether they be Black, Asian, White, or Latino. There were also talks between the McGuire and Garcia campaigns for a cross-endorsement, but it eventually fell through. I recently heard on NPR that someone was complaining about ranked choice voting, and that the Yang-Garcia “team” was gaming the system. He claimed that it was all within “self-interest.” Near the end of every close race, there is always a lot of drama. I do feel that many people have been alienated by the joint campaigning, so we will have to see how it reflects in the polls.
I’ll take a small look at the Republican Primary, which is much simpler. There are only 2 candidates, who have made many personal attacks against each other. Sliwa and Mateo point to rising crime and the housing crisis as their path to the mayorship, even though Republicans are outnumbered seven to one in NYC.
Make sure to stay informed about the mayoral race, and find your own opinion on Ranked Choice Voting and its effects. Do you think Yang and Garcia have a winning strategy, or will they alienate NYC voters? Have a nice rest of the day, and stay safe!
6/19
Hello everyone, hopefully you are having a wonderful day. There are less than 3 days to go until the primaries, and early voting is already underway. Turnout seems to be slightly low at the moment for early voting, so if you’re planning to vote, I would suggest to vote early to free up some space at the polling places. As of now, it seems that Adams has a slight lead, with Wiley, Garcia, and Yang close behind. Of course, 20% of voters are undecided, meaning that anything might happen. I’ll continue to update the page with any information that may come up.
6/18
I have edited and finished my remarks about the mayoral debate, and I also encourage you to check out my explanation of Ranked Choice voting in the FAQs about Voting section of this site. Its introduction lends a lot of uncertainty into the race, someone who is ahead in the first place votes might lose because they are not ranked second or third enough. Make sure to fill up your ballot to make sure your vote counts!
6/17
Yesterday was the final mayoral debate, something which should have cleared up many issues and solidified the candidates’ views. However, only 5 days before the primary, many could not give clear responses about what they would do about homelessness, the economy, and climate change. The poll numbers mostly stayed the same as before, despite some attempts by the candidates, any attacks that they made really weren’t that effective. Some notable barbs: Yang attacked Adams for his “bring a gun to church” plan, while Adams fired back with saying that his UBI plan would only amount to $5 a day; Morales claimed that Raymond J. McGuire couldn’t speak for the black and brown community, while he replied that he could and would. Eric Adams seems to be in the lead, but each candidate has a devoted following.
Important issues:
1. Environment: Every candidate had a commitment to protect the environment, the general consensus was to stop subsidizing the oil and gas industries and to move to renewable energy.
2. Housing: Most candidates agree that more housing needs to be built, we are in a housing crisis with the highest rates of evictions and homelessness yet. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic, but the issue still highlighted some divisions among the candidates. The majority of the candidates propose affordable housing programs that combat the rising prices in many neighborhoods. Yang criticized the “political” rhetoric and said that they were overlooking what was happening in the communities themselves.
3. Mental Illness: Andrew Yang drew criticism by saying “mentally ill homeless men are changing the character of our neighborhoods.” This was in the context of housing, and he continued on to say that Asian-Americans have been the victims of an increase in violence from mentally ill individuals during the pandemic. This is a highly charged issue, as many of the other candidates advocated for increased outreach services or a decriminalization of mental illness in the eyes of the public. It will be interesting to see how the Asian-American community responds to this rhetoric, as both sides do have some truth to them.
4. Crime/Racial Injustice: As I mentioned in the introduction, there is some division over the slogan “defund the police,” and what that actually means. Everyone mostly stayed true to their platform about what they will do to combat racial injustice and fight the increase in crime.
6/13
I have completed all the summaries/commentaries, and I hope they will be informative. I am now working on revamping the FAQs about Voting page and bringing it up-to-date.
6/05
Just an update, I have been regularly adding more candidates and information about them as I conduct comprehensive research. Of course, more information can be found on their websites, this list has the aim of giving you an in-depth summary of their background and beliefs.
5/29
Hi, I will continue to update the list of issues and candidates below, so you can be more informed. Take a look and see which ones have a platform that resonates with you.
5/28
Hello everyone, this is Michael Chan, back after a long hiatus due to school. However, the work that we do at Atooinc never stops. The next election is right around the corner, taking place inside our base of operations, New York City. The mayoral election is set to have an unprecedented number of candidates in both parties, and here I’ll go over a few of the candidates and their main platforms. As always, all discussion will be neutral and focus on the myriad issues at hand.
Republicans
- Fernando Mateo
An esteemed entrepreneur and a community leader, Mateo has been working for years to improve the lives of New York City residents, whether it be through his work on anti-crime programs like “Toys for Guns,” or through the revitalization of upper Manhattan into a major economic magnet. He has a simple but varied platform, focusing on traditional Republican issues like blue-collar jobs and defeating “Big Government.” Painting Democrat divisiveness as the cause of the downturn of the City, he says he will make NYC safer, cleaner, and better for the workers. The Republican base may also resonate with policies to remove the environmentally friendly CitiBikes, as well as install police officers on every train station. My conclusion is that Mateo, although coming from outside City Hall, is following the same economic policies and rhetoric as the rest of the Republican Party across the country. He doesn’t seem to be concerned about bipartisanship, and it will be interesting to see how he will fare in a city that has a majority Democrat population.
- Curtis Sliwa
The other Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, is also someone who has made a large impact in his community. Founder of the Guardian Angel program, an initiative that utilizes at-risk youth in a positive way by protecting the elderly and women in dangerous neighborhoods. According to himself, he has been a vocal critic of the policies of Bill DeBlasio, “deeming them too far left.” His main concerns are with crime, pledging to “refund the police” and to “safeguard our subways.” Drawing from his experience with the Guardian Angels, who helped patrol the subways to protect against violent crimes, he vows to put a stop to the crimes against Asian-Americans and the overall increase in crime over 2020. Curtis Sliwa has also been a critic of former President Donald Trump, something that might put him at odds with part of his Republican constituency. Mateo, his rival, has been openly endorsed by former Trump administration aides. Sliwa also criticizes the young generation of liberal activists for many of the problems in today’s society, maybe alienating young voters. I think that his policies will resonate with many voters regardless of political affiliation, but again, his success will be dependent on whether he can win the Republican primary and how many Democrat voters he can flip.
Democrats
- Eric Adams
Eric Adams comes from a long and distinguished career in the NYPD, rising to the rank of captain and revolutionizing the way crimes are tracked with computer systems. However, his main impact has been through combating systemic racism and biases from within the force. He has founded 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, an organization dedicated to stopping abuses of power against the African-American/minority community (like eliminating stop-and-frisk). Adams also displays ample experience in politics, currently the Brooklyn Borough President and a former state Senator. Adams has a comprehensive platform that seeks to address the rampant inequality in the city. His approach to government and the economy both involve the use of technology, with the aim of creating a more efficient system that can help more people more quickly. Most of his initiatives can be described with the words “Big Government,” defined as the government utilizing its resources to directly help the population. The relationship between police and inequality is a major issue during this election, as well as the spikes in crime during the pandemic. Adams pledges to retain and support the police, but also increase community involvement. In conclusion, Adams is a strong candidate that has support, but anything might happen in a competitive primary.
- Shaun Donovan
Donovan has a wealth of political experience, having served in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He also served in the Clinton Administration, as well as more recently in NYC as the Commissioner of the Department of Housing under the Bloomberg Administration. Donovan has a large amount of experience in government and politics, among the highest in the competitive race. His policies are quite comprehensive, focusing on the major issues of the future and housing. His background in housing administration gives him an advantage in this field, proposing “emergency rental assistance” as the key to reducing homelessness and the housing crisis. After an unforeseen event such as the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of New Yorkers were suddenly left without income and defaulted on their rental payments. His plan would try to prevent incidents like these from happening again. He has many other issues that he plans to address, many of which cannot be listed here. Even so, Donovan does not seem to be doing well in the polls, maybe due a lack of popularity or charisma. We will have to see how he fares in the upcoming Democratic primary.
- Kathryn Garcia
Kathryn Garcia has been involved in helping NYC for more than 14 years as the commissioner of the Department of Sanitation. She comes from a diverse background, growing up white and adopted in a multiracial family. She didn’t let the challenges that she faced as a child faze her; time and time again she has shown herself to be a leader. Whether it be through the reduction of lead poisonings in NYC housing, or through handling the Covid-19 pandemic, she has taken charge successfully on a variety of issues. Her platform, like almost all the other candidates, is comprehensive, but its main goal is the recovery, health, and safety of New York. Policies like simultaneous police reform and crime reduction, as well as equitable education and housing, are one of her many focuses. Her success in this Democratic primary will be contingent on whether she can sell her experience in politics; Garcia must also show how her platform is different from the many others in the race.
- Raymond J. McGuire
Raymond McGuire is a CitiGroup executive, and one of the highest ranking African Americans on Wall Street. He comes from a humble background, growing up poor and eventually rising up the ranks through education and resilience. As his background is in economics, McGuire is proposing a plan to revamp the housing system and to revitalize NYC’s economy. At the heart of the Comeback program are small businesses, and he plans to freeze sales taxes, rent payments, and permits for a year to take the pressure off of them. He also has a commitment to racial justice, which extends to fixing the race gap in homeownership. This includes preventing foreclosures, lowering construction costs, and increasing access to legal assistance to prevent eviction. Everything he proposed seemed very comprehensive, but the candidate doesn’t seem to have much experience in public service. He came under fire for being out of touch with the average resident after he drastically underestimated the price of a city home recently. We will have to see if he can make himself stand out in a very competitive race.
- Dianne Morales
Dianne prides herself on her commitment to community activism and her experiences as a native New Yorker. She grew up as the daughter of two blue-collar parents, who instilled in her a passion for social work and labor organization. As a former NYC schoolteacher, Morales has campaigned on the lack of equity in NYC schools, more specifically, against both segregation and the ignorance of special-needs children. Her most recent initiative is a training program for the healthcare field, which builds off of her experience working in housing for LGBTQ+ youth. Her platform mostly focuses on inequality, something NYC has a lot of. She blames the government and big corporations for letting down the residents, as the working class struggles to bring the city back to its former glory. She has a unique platform that focuses on interconnected themes instead of individual issues, which include Dignity, Care, and Solidarity. Dignity is a democratization of government and an expansion of equity, which ties into housing for all, LGBTQ+ rights, defunding the police, and support for Unions. Care refers to reducing senior homelessness, improving the healthcare system, and the environment. And Solidarity refers to a wealth tax, community leadership, and free CUNY. She has an organized platform that appeals to the blue-collared worker and a liberal base. We will have to see if she can reach enough voters in this competitive race.
- Scott M. Stringer
Scott Stringer is the current NYC comptroller, the chief financial officer of the City. He has ample experience in politics, and knows how NYC government functions. He was born and raised in NYC, and eventually was elected to the State Assembly, in which he proposed marriage equality, anti-domestic violence, and pro-union legislation. His platform is centered around recovery, whether it be from the economic downturn facing NYC, or the more recent damage of the coronavirus pandemic. He has plans in place to quickly vaccinate every New Yorker to get us through this pandemic, and then utilize those same measures to get us through the next one. The economic side focuses on supporting small businesses (especially minority and women owned), while also reducing wealth disparities and lack of affordable housing. Climate change seems to be a bigger issue here than in some of the other campaigns, as he draws off of his experience defunding fossil fuel companies to pledge to ban all new fossil fuel infrastructure and to make NYC 100% renewable. There are a host of other issues that he is fighting for, but I am unable to list them all here as this is a quick summary. There is a final thing that I wanted to say, and that is about the two sexual harassment allegations made. We at Atooinc stand in solidarity with the women, yet due to a lack of evidence we cannot make a clear statement until an investigation can be made. More objectively, the accusations have hurt his poll numbers and have made him lose key donors, which will make us wait and see how he will fare in the competitive Democratic Primary.
- Maya Wiley
Wiley has a history of activism and breaking barriers, whether it be through acting as a lawyer for the NCAAP or being the Counsel to the Mayor. She has a very progressive platform, and has been endorsed by big names like Elizabeth Warren. Her New Deal New York Program likens itself to the New Deal of Roosevelt, comparing the pandemic’s impact on the economy to the Great Depression. She plans to create many jobs, invest $10 billion into the economy, revitalize NYCHA, and to help black and latinx businesses, which are disproportionally affected. The second is Universal Community Care, which basically affirms that care work and the service industry is important, especially since the people in that field are disproportionally women. It also includes money and grants to these workers, as well as protections and accountability. The last one I’m going to talk about here is Gun Violence Protection, which basically goes into the racial and economic aspects of Gun Violence. The solution, according to her, is not more police, but the empowerment of communities and through education. However, public safety is also important. Wiley has made a name for herself as a competitive progressive candidate for the mayoral race, and if she wins the Democratic primary, she might have a chance to be the first woman mayor of NYC.
- Andrew Yang
Andrew Yang was one of most hyped up candidates for the Democratic nomination, yet lately his inexperience has been dragging him down in the polls. He is a former presidential candidate who made national headlines by campaigning for universal basic income, and he is also a self-made billionaire. His platform is extremely long and comprehensive, having the first part mostly focus on economic recovery and the next on the host of other issues that have plagued the city. The problem with most of his policies is that he dreams big and tries to please a lot of people, yet most of the time he never gives specific amounts. It will be very interesting to see how many of these programs he can actually institute in the way that he is proposing them. The increase of hate crimes against Asian-Americans is an important issue, to which he says that there needs to be increased funding to the NYPD Asian Hate Crime Task Force. Many claim that defunding, instead of funding, is what Yang needs to do to the NYPD, and that the action will only further damage minority neighborhoods. Yang is a charismatic candidate and brings a breath of fresh air into a field of career politicians, yet many think his inexperience, slight conservatism, and privilege will hurt his chances for the mayorship. The prospect of being the first Asian-American mayor of NYC has definitely excited the Asian-American community, a group that historically has low voter turnout (something this organization aims to rectify). We will have to see whether he can push past his barriers in a very competitive race.
9/28
On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg became the first woman (and the first Jewish American) to lie in state at the Capitol Building. She was one of the most influential and vocal justices that have ever served on the Supreme Court, writing powerful dissents that influenced legislation and made her into a role model for young women everywhere. Her life before the court was as a lawyer, arguing and winning multiple cases for gender equality at the Supreme Court itself. RBG’s last wish was that she should not be replaced until after the election, and this is where the controversy starts. It is sad that we cannot honor the lasting legacy of this amazing woman in this current political climate.
A general overview of the problem:
At the end of President Barack Obama’s term as president, Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. It was almost a year before the election, but Senate Republicans opposed finding a replacement, saying, “The election will be a referendum on who the American People want on the Supreme Court.” President Trump won the election, and he put Justice Neils Gorsuch on the bench. Later, after Justice Kennedy retired, he was able to put Justice Cavanough on the bench (with some controversy). Now, he is up to put an unprecedented 3rd Justice on the Supreme Court. There is one problem though. We are almost 1 month away from the election, which is many times less than what President Obama had. This time, Senate Republicans have reversed their position and said that they are going to move forward with replacing Ginsberg with a candidate of President Trump’s choice.
What is happening now?
President Trump now has his Supreme Court Nominee, who is Amy Coney Barrett. She is a conservative woman, which might appeal to his base of Evangelicals. Democrats in the Senate are trying to attack her for her Catholic religious beliefs, which is dangerous because of freedom of religion in this country. If she gets confirmed, this could give a 6-3 conservative majority on the court, which could later overturn the Affordable Care Act, Abortion rights, and Gay marriage. We will have to see how this plays out.
8/30 – (Guest post from the staff)
Before we begin, on behalf of the staff here at A Too, Inc., I would like to extend our congratulations to both President Trump and former Vice-President Biden on their nominations for the Presidency. We also extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families and friends of George Floyd, Elijah McClain, Cannon Hinnant and the 183,000 victims of COVID-19.
The 2020 election is currently being marketed as a showdown of the two sides of American values. President Trump has adopted the slogan “Help Keep America Great” while Biden has cast the election as “A Battle For The Soul Of This Nation”.
Each convention had a unifying theme. The DNC presented an America that has been torn to shreds by President Trump, with speakers such as Senator Duckworth and former President Obama blasting the Commander-in-Chief for his handling of the allegations of bounties on US troops by Russia and the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the RNC attacked the progressive left, showcasing examples of purported bias in mass media and cancel culture. “Law and Order” was a key topic, with appearances from a police officer and a police widow who cast a grim picture of a post-police landscape. And of course, there was the corona-virus. Amid the claims that China created the virus pushed by Senator Tom Cotton (which has been dis-proven by domestic and international scientists), President Trump doubled down on China, presenting it as a threat to American national security that only he is strong enough to combat.
Dystopian seems to be a common theme in both parties’ narratives. On the one hand, the RNC fully rejected the “socialist left” and appealed to the middle-class voters across all races, picturing a dystopian future under “the Left” where the suburbs are invaded by looters and riots while jobs and properties are thrown to a central US Communist Party. On the other hand, the DNC portrayed a dystopian present driven by the Commander-in-Chief, arguing that we need a person with experience, and casting the President’s character/leadership in the past four years, especially in the pandemic, as self-serving and destructive to all but the wealthiest Americans.
While all these statements are far more nuanced than I have time to do justice to in this post, they all appeal to the collective common-sense in some way or another. Now, “common-sense” is a learned entity, built upon years of experience and schooling, and it is how many will vote in November. In this series, I will examine some of the key issues, present the facts, and only the facts, and allow you as the reader to decide for yourself whom you want to elect as your Commander-in-Chief for the next four years.
8/28 – So last night I watched the final day of the Republican National Convention (Day 4), and I just wanted to present some recurring themes in the rhetoric that could help you to digest all that was said. There were three main points, “anti-China,” “law and order,” and “Trump’s kindness.”
The first point was brought up by many of the speakers, saying that “Joe Biden is soft on China” and “the China virus.” China has been a main target of President Trump throughout his four years in office, with the trade war and the forced closure of a Chinese Consulate. But why is China such a target? President Trump (and the other speakers) create a disparity between the democracy of the United States and the cruel control of the Chinese Communist Party. They also make the point that China is stealing American jobs from the blue collar workers, which comprises a large part of the President’s base.
Another theme from the speeches was law and order. With the outrage over police killings of George Floyd and many others, some have tried to undermine the sentiment of the protesters through looting and pillaging. Speakers like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the President of the Police Benevolent Association of NYC Patrick Lynch portrayed how defunding the police would lead to more crime and hurt the ability of the police to work effectively. In particular, Giuliani spoke about how the administration of the Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio has caused New York City crime levels to skyrocket. He likened this situation to a prospective United States run by Joe Biden and the other Democrats.
The last point that I would like to address is the persona that President Trump adopted during this convention. Throughout his presidency, he has appeared to be a brash figure, promising to be tough on crime, illegal immigration, and people “living off welfare.” However, we saw an empathy for the American people that we have not seen before. Alice Johnson, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for a first-time drug offense, tearfully told us how President Trump heard about her situation and officially pardoned her. President’s daughter Ivanka Trump said that he passed “one of the greatest criminal justice reforms of our generation” to reunite many inmates with their loved ones. Finally, Trump himself stated that he would protect those with preexisting conditions under welfare and Social Security. In closing, I just wanted to say that there were many other small references in the speeches that would appeal to the president’s base. For example, the commitment to pro-life and anti-gay marriage is clearly directed towards evangelicals. Although some may say that the Administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was criminal, the video clips aired during RNC demonstrated the President’s commitment to science and helping the American people through the pandemic. Whatever the statements, there was a clear narrative brought to the table.
I will summarize the Democratic National Convention in the next post. Please stay tuned!
Introduction: My name is Michael Chan, and today (8/27) is the first day of this blog! I am currently a rising junior at Stuyvesant High School and one of the founders of AToo.inc. Of course, that information can just be found in our about page. Why have I started writing at seemingly random time of the year? Today is the last day of the Republican National Convention, and President Trump has now been confirmed as the Republican presidential nominee. With both candidates confirmed, now the real battle starts. My objective is to keep this blog non-partisan; I want it to be a reflection of my views on voting. However, I am a person with my own political leanings, which may shine through at some points in this blog. There are two things I’ll be writing about: voting and current political events. Hopefully you’ll enjoy what I’m writing and also learn somethingWe
10/10/22
The last day to register to vote in person is this coming Friday, October 14, 2022, which is the same day to postmark application.
10/7/22
How will the gubernatorial candidates stop New York from bleeding residents?
Ms. Hochul is finding ways to cut the tax burden, such as expediting the middle-class tax cut and giving property tax relief.
Mr. Zeldin will work on reversing the attacks on wallets, safety, freedom and quality of education.
10/5/22
How will the gubernatorial candidates revive New York’s subway system: increase state funding, raise fares or cut service?
Mr. Zeldin proposes to focus on subway security to increase ridership, thereby stabilizing the finances of public transit.
Ms. Hochul hopes to generate revenues with congestion pricing, without fare increase.
10/2/22
9/30/22
How to address elevated crime in New York’s cities?
Mr. Zeldin will repeal cashless bail and give back the decision to judges, in addition to supporting law enforcement.
Ms. Hochul’s focus will be on gun safety, not just on mass shootings but the everyday street shootings.
9/27/22
Mr. Zeldin opposes banning all gas hookups on new construction statewide and advocates safe extraction of natural resources from the Marcellus and Utica Shales.
9/26/22
9/21/22
Thanks to our three volunteers, we had a good voter registration event at the center of Flushing on Monday (see the front page). We gave out flyers containing voter registration information with Chinese translation (see above). One of the volunteers also distributed about 100 flyers to students in his school district for them to take back to their Chinese-speaking family members and neighbors.
9/16/22
Hi, it has been a long time since our last blog post. We are working on multiple initiatives and will report back soon. In the meantime, please spread the word that we will have a voter registration event at Queens Public Library at Flushing this coming Monday (9/19) at 5:45-8pm. If you are interested in volunteering, please email us at atooinc3@gmail.com.
2/21
Hi, I’m coming back during this Mid-Winter break to launch a new initiative for this blog. Before the midterm elections, there is quite a lull in election news. l’m going to be talking about general politics on a thrice-weekly basis, so stay tuned!
Gerrymandering and Redistricting are two ways that political parties in control can solidify their power. You can head over to FAQs about voting for an in-depth explanation of these terms. These methods aren’t limited to any one political party, both can be guilty of this. Most recently, in new NYC congressional maps (drawn up by the Democrats), Park Slope, a predominantly liberal district, was being merged with the more conservative Staten Island. This has the effect of tilting the scales toward the Democrats in the next midterm election, something residents say is equivalent to “silencing the Staten Island vote.” Either way, tensions run high in the 11th district, and the candidates will have to find a way to appeal to voters on all sides of the political spectrum.
10/23
The NYC mayoral debate happened recently between Curtis Silwa and Eric Adams. They both brought up Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal employees, with Eric Adams in mild support and Silwa vehemently against. There was also a heated argument about lies, given Silwa’s admission that his Guardian Angels organization faked crimes, and Adam’s secrecy about his residency (he refuses to disclose how much time he actually spends at his Brooklyn apartment). As I talked about in my post last week, Adams opposes de Blasio’s attempts to end the gifted and talented programs in NYC. Silwa also voiced his opposition in the debate. Rikers Island has been the subject of many inmate-abuse controversies, and Adams is in support of de Blasio’s plan to phase out the prison. Yet Silwa claimed he would even move there and live in the warden’s house, to give support to the correctional officers. Adams has faced criticism in the past for his association with the rich at exclusive clubs/venues, while Silwa maintains his status as a people’s candidate. We’ll have to see how they conduct themselves at the next mayoral debate, as well as hear what other policies they have in store for New York. Have a great day!
10/16
Mayor Deblasio has been against NYC’s Gifted and Talented programs for a long time now, but as he leaves office, he wants the phasing out of these programs to be a part of his legacy. However, in a recent statement, Brooklyn Borough president Eric Adams (the presumed next mayor of NYC), said that it is not his intention to end these programs. Deblasio is essentially a lame duck mayor, meaning that any policies he supports against Adams would mostly be an obstruction of the people’s will. The programs will stay in place until next school year, and Adams will take office on January 1st, 2022. It is unlikely that Deblasio will be able to completely end the G&T programs. I’ll have some more info soon about what actually is going to happen to this programs later.
10/2
Welcome to the month of October everyone! Right now the political scene is pretty quiet, with the Mayoral Election and City Council Elections coming to a quiet close in a month’s time. I’ll try to focus on some more nationwide news in the coming weeks.
7/17
Hello everyone, I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I know that the general election doesn’t seem to be as exciting as the Democratic and Republican primaries, but there’s a lot that we can learn about the two candidate’s policies if they get elected. Adams and Silwa are both active in campaigning, and we’ll have to see how it turns out. Now for news that I found interesting: Adams says that if he becomes mayor, he will try to rename streets and buildings that honor slaveowners. He also said that they will also try to rename streets in honor of more prominent Asian Americans. Silwa slammed Adams for being to soft on crime and gun violence, citing Adam’s earlier comments on a summer jobs program to curb gun violence.
The general election is often considered only a formality because New York City is deeply blue, and it would take a scandal or real societal upheaval for Silwa to win. I will try to cover the main policies that the candidates will try to implement.
7/11
I have updated some of the formatting of this blog to make it easier to read. One of the takeaways that NYC had during this election season was the success of ranked choice voting in carrying out the will of the people. Even with the incompetence of the BOE, Adams, who received the majority of the first place votes, was still able to win. Maya Wiley, who placed 3rd in the race, noted how the Ranked choice voting did not split the African-American vote, as many had feared. The general election is set to be less competitive, due do how many Democrats are in NYC. Silwa is still campaigning hard, but we will have to see if he can garner enough support from disillusioned voters.
As always, have a nice day!
7/8
Hello everyone, as you know, Eric Adams is now the Democratic nominee for mayor. He will be facing off against Curtis Silwa in the general election, which will occur on November 2, 2021. I have already went over most of their platforms, which you can check out below. I will be updating the site with important news, but in the meantime, I will try to have another article up on FAQs about Voting by the end of the week.
Have an excellent day!
7/5
I hope everyone had a great July 4th, there are not many election news updates. I just wanted to highlight something that I thought was interesting. It was pretty well known that Eric Adams won a majority of the African-American and Latino vote, with almost 45% to 75%. Maya Wiley, although African American herself, mostly garnered votes from white far-left and progressive areas of NYC, while Garcia appealed to the affluent gentry of Manhattan. This could have been a snapshot of how NYC residents felt about the De Blasio administration (Wiley and Garcia were both involved), but it mostly boiled down into issues over defunding the police. Adams took a stance against depolicing, while Wiley and Garcia supported it. From the data, it was pretty clear that the majority of African Americans and Latinos in NYC, who are disproportionately affected by the increase in crime, are actually against radical measures to defund the police. Closer to home, many Chinese and Asian voters supported Andrew Yang, who was also against defunding the police. On the other hand, the majority of affluent white voters, and progressive young individuals were more supportive of defunding the police. This election maybe provides a window into how people of color really feel about radical police reform.
Have a nice day, and stay safe!
7/3
I’m wishing everyone a happy July Fourth tomorrow, don’t really have much to say about any elections at the moment. Adams, Wiley, and Garcia have all taken legal action against the BOE to reserve the right to do a recount of the votes, given the problems that have arisen during this election season. The race will be decided by the 125,000 absentee ballots, as Garcia only trails Adams by 14,755 and Wiley trails Garcia by 347. Have a nice day, and I’ll post here for any more updates.
7/1
Hi, we are back from our break, and the mayoral election has been pretty hectic. There is an extremely close race, with Adams and Garcia being separated by less than 2 percentage points. However, there is a major problem with the results that may impede the results for weeks. The Elections Board counted 135,000 test ballots, throwing a cloud of uncertainty over the validity of the current results. The candidates have slammed the Board for repeated failures over many years, and there will definitely be calls for a recount. We will have to see how this plays out. In the meantime, there is a new entry in FAQs about Voting, this time about the controversy over Voter ID laws.
Side Note: I have reorganized the FAQs about Voting page to show more recent posts at the top.
Have a great day!
6/28
Hello everyone, hopefully everyone is doing well. Currently, the staff of Atooinc are on vacation, and will be until 7/1. I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to navigate to this site to learn some more about the election and voting processes. Although I am on vacation, I am still working on more informational posts to put on the FAQs About Voting page of this website. The NYC Democratic primary results will probably be out by 6/29, and then we will prepare for an exciting mayoral election.
Have a nice day!
6/23
I hope everyone has had an enjoyable day yesterday. The primaries are over, but the full results may not come out until much later because of absentee ballots and ranked choice voting. Adams is leading with about 30% of the vote, compared to only 21% for Maya Wiley, who is in second place. Garcia is not far behind Wiley with 20% of the vote, leaving much opportunity for variation as NYC moves into its successive rounds of ranked choice voting. Yang is lagging behind with only 11% of the vote and has since conceded.
When looking at the demographics, it was clear that this was an example of coalition politics. Adams took neighborhoods with majority Black and Hispanic populations, like parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Southern Queens. Yang was very strong in Queens areas with a large Asian-American population. Garcia polled well in Manhattan. Wiley took upper Brooklyn. It all came down to the numbers, and the rest just didn’t have enough. Unless something unexpected happens, it looks like that Adams will be the Democratic nominee for the NYC Mayoral election. On another note, Curtis Sliwa won the Republican Primary.
As always, stay safe, and have a nice day.
6/21
The primaries are tomorrow, and this last weekend of campaigning has been very exciting. Since the city is doing ranked-choice voting, the candidates have changed their strategies in order to get as many second and third place votes from their competitors’ voters. Not all of them seem to be very happy about the current system, and Eric Adams has criticized Garcia and Yang for “teaming up to prevent a Black or Latino person from becoming mayor.” There seems to be a discontinuity in the logic, as candidates teaming up is not a new phenomenon. Candidates campaign together to have a higher chance of winning, which will indirectly prevent anyone else to become mayor, whether they be Black, Asian, White, or Latino. There were also talks between the McGuire and Garcia campaigns for a cross-endorsement, but it eventually fell through. I recently heard on NPR that someone was complaining about ranked choice voting, and that the Yang-Garcia “team” was gaming the system. He claimed that it was all within “self-interest.” Near the end of every close race, there is always a lot of drama. I do feel that many people have been alienated by the joint campaigning, so we will have to see how it reflects in the polls.
I’ll take a small look at the Republican Primary, which is much simpler. There are only 2 candidates, who have made many personal attacks against each other. Sliwa and Mateo point to rising crime and the housing crisis as their path to the mayorship, even though Republicans are outnumbered seven to one in NYC.
Make sure to stay informed about the mayoral race, and find your own opinion on Ranked Choice Voting and its effects. Do you think Yang and Garcia have a winning strategy, or will they alienate NYC voters? Have a nice rest of the day, and stay safe!
6/19
Hello everyone, hopefully you are having a wonderful day. There are less than 3 days to go until the primaries, and early voting is already underway. Turnout seems to be slightly low at the moment for early voting, so if you’re planning to vote, I would suggest to vote early to free up some space at the polling places. As of now, it seems that Adams has a slight lead, with Wiley, Garcia, and Yang close behind. Of course, 20% of voters are undecided, meaning that anything might happen. I’ll continue to update the page with any information that may come up.
6/18
I have edited and finished my remarks about the mayoral debate, and I also encourage you to check out my explanation of Ranked Choice voting in the FAQs about Voting section of this site. Its introduction lends a lot of uncertainty into the race, someone who is ahead in the first place votes might lose because they are not ranked second or third enough. Make sure to fill up your ballot to make sure your vote counts!
6/17
Yesterday was the final mayoral debate, something which should have cleared up many issues and solidified the candidates’ views. However, only 5 days before the primary, many could not give clear responses about what they would do about homelessness, the economy, and climate change. The poll numbers mostly stayed the same as before, despite some attempts by the candidates, any attacks that they made really weren’t that effective. Some notable barbs: Yang attacked Adams for his “bring a gun to church” plan, while Adams fired back with saying that his UBI plan would only amount to $5 a day; Morales claimed that Raymond J. McGuire couldn’t speak for the black and brown community, while he replied that he could and would. Eric Adams seems to be in the lead, but each candidate has a devoted following.
Important issues:
1. Environment: Every candidate had a commitment to protect the environment, the general consensus was to stop subsidizing the oil and gas industries and to move to renewable energy.
2. Housing: Most candidates agree that more housing needs to be built, we are in a housing crisis with the highest rates of evictions and homelessness yet. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic, but the issue still highlighted some divisions among the candidates. The majority of the candidates propose affordable housing programs that combat the rising prices in many neighborhoods. Yang criticized the “political” rhetoric and said that they were overlooking what was happening in the communities themselves.
3. Mental Illness: Andrew Yang drew criticism by saying “mentally ill homeless men are changing the character of our neighborhoods.” This was in the context of housing, and he continued on to say that Asian-Americans have been the victims of an increase in violence from mentally ill individuals during the pandemic. This is a highly charged issue, as many of the other candidates advocated for increased outreach services or a decriminalization of mental illness in the eyes of the public. It will be interesting to see how the Asian-American community responds to this rhetoric, as both sides do have some truth to them.
4. Crime/Racial Injustice: As I mentioned in the introduction, there is some division over the slogan “defund the police,” and what that actually means. Everyone mostly stayed true to their platform about what they will do to combat racial injustice and fight the increase in crime.
6/13
I have completed all the summaries/commentaries, and I hope they will be informative. I am now working on revamping the FAQs about Voting page and bringing it up-to-date.
6/05
Just an update, I have been regularly adding more candidates and information about them as I conduct comprehensive research. Of course, more information can be found on their websites, this list has the aim of giving you an in-depth summary of their background and beliefs.
5/29
Hi, I will continue to update the list of issues and candidates below, so you can be more informed. Take a look and see which ones have a platform that resonates with you.
5/28
Hello everyone, this is Michael Chan, back after a long hiatus due to school. However, the work that we do at Atooinc never stops. The next election is right around the corner, taking place inside our base of operations, New York City. The mayoral election is set to have an unprecedented number of candidates in both parties, and here I’ll go over a few of the candidates and their main platforms. As always, all discussion will be neutral and focus on the myriad issues at hand.
Republicans
- Fernando Mateo
An esteemed entrepreneur and a community leader, Mateo has been working for years to improve the lives of New York City residents, whether it be through his work on anti-crime programs like “Toys for Guns,” or through the revitalization of upper Manhattan into a major economic magnet. He has a simple but varied platform, focusing on traditional Republican issues like blue-collar jobs and defeating “Big Government.” Painting Democrat divisiveness as the cause of the downturn of the City, he says he will make NYC safer, cleaner, and better for the workers. The Republican base may also resonate with policies to remove the environmentally friendly CitiBikes, as well as install police officers on every train station. My conclusion is that Mateo, although coming from outside City Hall, is following the same economic policies and rhetoric as the rest of the Republican Party across the country. He doesn’t seem to be concerned about bipartisanship, and it will be interesting to see how he will fare in a city that has a majority Democrat population.
- Curtis Sliwa
The other Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, is also someone who has made a large impact in his community. Founder of the Guardian Angel program, an initiative that utilizes at-risk youth in a positive way by protecting the elderly and women in dangerous neighborhoods. According to himself, he has been a vocal critic of the policies of Bill DeBlasio, “deeming them too far left.” His main concerns are with crime, pledging to “refund the police” and to “safeguard our subways.” Drawing from his experience with the Guardian Angels, who helped patrol the subways to protect against violent crimes, he vows to put a stop to the crimes against Asian-Americans and the overall increase in crime over 2020. Curtis Sliwa has also been a critic of former President Donald Trump, something that might put him at odds with part of his Republican constituency. Mateo, his rival, has been openly endorsed by former Trump administration aides. Sliwa also criticizes the young generation of liberal activists for many of the problems in today’s society, maybe alienating young voters. I think that his policies will resonate with many voters regardless of political affiliation, but again, his success will be dependent on whether he can win the Republican primary and how many Democrat voters he can flip.
Democrats
- Eric Adams
Eric Adams comes from a long and distinguished career in the NYPD, rising to the rank of captain and revolutionizing the way crimes are tracked with computer systems. However, his main impact has been through combating systemic racism and biases from within the force. He has founded 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, an organization dedicated to stopping abuses of power against the African-American/minority community (like eliminating stop-and-frisk). Adams also displays ample experience in politics, currently the Brooklyn Borough President and a former state Senator. Adams has a comprehensive platform that seeks to address the rampant inequality in the city. His approach to government and the economy both involve the use of technology, with the aim of creating a more efficient system that can help more people more quickly. Most of his initiatives can be described with the words “Big Government,” defined as the government utilizing its resources to directly help the population. The relationship between police and inequality is a major issue during this election, as well as the spikes in crime during the pandemic. Adams pledges to retain and support the police, but also increase community involvement. In conclusion, Adams is a strong candidate that has support, but anything might happen in a competitive primary.
- Shaun Donovan
Donovan has a wealth of political experience, having served in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He also served in the Clinton Administration, as well as more recently in NYC as the Commissioner of the Department of Housing under the Bloomberg Administration. Donovan has a large amount of experience in government and politics, among the highest in the competitive race. His policies are quite comprehensive, focusing on the major issues of the future and housing. His background in housing administration gives him an advantage in this field, proposing “emergency rental assistance” as the key to reducing homelessness and the housing crisis. After an unforeseen event such as the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of New Yorkers were suddenly left without income and defaulted on their rental payments. His plan would try to prevent incidents like these from happening again. He has many other issues that he plans to address, many of which cannot be listed here. Even so, Donovan does not seem to be doing well in the polls, maybe due a lack of popularity or charisma. We will have to see how he fares in the upcoming Democratic primary.
- Kathryn Garcia
Kathryn Garcia has been involved in helping NYC for more than 14 years as the commissioner of the Department of Sanitation. She comes from a diverse background, growing up white and adopted in a multiracial family. She didn’t let the challenges that she faced as a child faze her; time and time again she has shown herself to be a leader. Whether it be through the reduction of lead poisonings in NYC housing, or through handling the Covid-19 pandemic, she has taken charge successfully on a variety of issues. Her platform, like almost all the other candidates, is comprehensive, but its main goal is the recovery, health, and safety of New York. Policies like simultaneous police reform and crime reduction, as well as equitable education and housing, are one of her many focuses. Her success in this Democratic primary will be contingent on whether she can sell her experience in politics; Garcia must also show how her platform is different from the many others in the race.
- Raymond J. McGuire
Raymond McGuire is a CitiGroup executive, and one of the highest ranking African Americans on Wall Street. He comes from a humble background, growing up poor and eventually rising up the ranks through education and resilience. As his background is in economics, McGuire is proposing a plan to revamp the housing system and to revitalize NYC’s economy. At the heart of the Comeback program are small businesses, and he plans to freeze sales taxes, rent payments, and permits for a year to take the pressure off of them. He also has a commitment to racial justice, which extends to fixing the race gap in homeownership. This includes preventing foreclosures, lowering construction costs, and increasing access to legal assistance to prevent eviction. Everything he proposed seemed very comprehensive, but the candidate doesn’t seem to have much experience in public service. He came under fire for being out of touch with the average resident after he drastically underestimated the price of a city home recently. We will have to see if he can make himself stand out in a very competitive race.
- Dianne Morales
Dianne prides herself on her commitment to community activism and her experiences as a native New Yorker. She grew up as the daughter of two blue-collar parents, who instilled in her a passion for social work and labor organization. As a former NYC schoolteacher, Morales has campaigned on the lack of equity in NYC schools, more specifically, against both segregation and the ignorance of special-needs children. Her most recent initiative is a training program for the healthcare field, which builds off of her experience working in housing for LGBTQ+ youth. Her platform mostly focuses on inequality, something NYC has a lot of. She blames the government and big corporations for letting down the residents, as the working class struggles to bring the city back to its former glory. She has a unique platform that focuses on interconnected themes instead of individual issues, which include Dignity, Care, and Solidarity. Dignity is a democratization of government and an expansion of equity, which ties into housing for all, LGBTQ+ rights, defunding the police, and support for Unions. Care refers to reducing senior homelessness, improving the healthcare system, and the environment. And Solidarity refers to a wealth tax, community leadership, and free CUNY. She has an organized platform that appeals to the blue-collared worker and a liberal base. We will have to see if she can reach enough voters in this competitive race.
- Scott M. Stringer
Scott Stringer is the current NYC comptroller, the chief financial officer of the City. He has ample experience in politics, and knows how NYC government functions. He was born and raised in NYC, and eventually was elected to the State Assembly, in which he proposed marriage equality, anti-domestic violence, and pro-union legislation. His platform is centered around recovery, whether it be from the economic downturn facing NYC, or the more recent damage of the coronavirus pandemic. He has plans in place to quickly vaccinate every New Yorker to get us through this pandemic, and then utilize those same measures to get us through the next one. The economic side focuses on supporting small businesses (especially minority and women owned), while also reducing wealth disparities and lack of affordable housing. Climate change seems to be a bigger issue here than in some of the other campaigns, as he draws off of his experience defunding fossil fuel companies to pledge to ban all new fossil fuel infrastructure and to make NYC 100% renewable. There are a host of other issues that he is fighting for, but I am unable to list them all here as this is a quick summary. There is a final thing that I wanted to say, and that is about the two sexual harassment allegations made. We at Atooinc stand in solidarity with the women, yet due to a lack of evidence we cannot make a clear statement until an investigation can be made. More objectively, the accusations have hurt his poll numbers and have made him lose key donors, which will make us wait and see how he will fare in the competitive Democratic Primary.
- Maya Wiley
Wiley has a history of activism and breaking barriers, whether it be through acting as a lawyer for the NCAAP or being the Counsel to the Mayor. She has a very progressive platform, and has been endorsed by big names like Elizabeth Warren. Her New Deal New York Program likens itself to the New Deal of Roosevelt, comparing the pandemic’s impact on the economy to the Great Depression. She plans to create many jobs, invest $10 billion into the economy, revitalize NYCHA, and to help black and latinx businesses, which are disproportionally affected. The second is Universal Community Care, which basically affirms that care work and the service industry is important, especially since the people in that field are disproportionally women. It also includes money and grants to these workers, as well as protections and accountability. The last one I’m going to talk about here is Gun Violence Protection, which basically goes into the racial and economic aspects of Gun Violence. The solution, according to her, is not more police, but the empowerment of communities and through education. However, public safety is also important. Wiley has made a name for herself as a competitive progressive candidate for the mayoral race, and if she wins the Democratic primary, she might have a chance to be the first woman mayor of NYC.
- Andrew Yang
Andrew Yang was one of most hyped up candidates for the Democratic nomination, yet lately his inexperience has been dragging him down in the polls. He is a former presidential candidate who made national headlines by campaigning for universal basic income, and he is also a self-made billionaire. His platform is extremely long and comprehensive, having the first part mostly focus on economic recovery and the next on the host of other issues that have plagued the city. The problem with most of his policies is that he dreams big and tries to please a lot of people, yet most of the time he never gives specific amounts. It will be very interesting to see how many of these programs he can actually institute in the way that he is proposing them. The increase of hate crimes against Asian-Americans is an important issue, to which he says that there needs to be increased funding to the NYPD Asian Hate Crime Task Force. Many claim that defunding, instead of funding, is what Yang needs to do to the NYPD, and that the action will only further damage minority neighborhoods. Yang is a charismatic candidate and brings a breath of fresh air into a field of career politicians, yet many think his inexperience, slight conservatism, and privilege will hurt his chances for the mayorship. The prospect of being the first Asian-American mayor of NYC has definitely excited the Asian-American community, a group that historically has low voter turnout (something this organization aims to rectify). We will have to see whether he can push past his barriers in a very competitive race.
9/28
On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg became the first woman (and the first Jewish American) to lie in state at the Capitol Building. She was one of the most influential and vocal justices that have ever served on the Supreme Court, writing powerful dissents that influenced legislation and made her into a role model for young women everywhere. Her life before the court was as a lawyer, arguing and winning multiple cases for gender equality at the Supreme Court itself. RBG’s last wish was that she should not be replaced until after the election, and this is where the controversy starts. It is sad that we cannot honor the lasting legacy of this amazing woman in this current political climate.
A general overview of the problem:
At the end of President Barack Obama’s term as president, Justice Antonin Scalia passed away. It was almost a year before the election, but Senate Republicans opposed finding a replacement, saying, “The election will be a referendum on who the American People want on the Supreme Court.” President Trump won the election, and he put Justice Neils Gorsuch on the bench. Later, after Justice Kennedy retired, he was able to put Justice Cavanough on the bench (with some controversy). Now, he is up to put an unprecedented 3rd Justice on the Supreme Court. There is one problem though. We are almost 1 month away from the election, which is many times less than what President Obama had. This time, Senate Republicans have reversed their position and said that they are going to move forward with replacing Ginsberg with a candidate of President Trump’s choice.
What is happening now?
President Trump now has his Supreme Court Nominee, who is Amy Coney Barrett. She is a conservative woman, which might appeal to his base of Evangelicals. Democrats in the Senate are trying to attack her for her Catholic religious beliefs, which is dangerous because of freedom of religion in this country. If she gets confirmed, this could give a 6-3 conservative majority on the court, which could later overturn the Affordable Care Act, Abortion rights, and Gay marriage. We will have to see how this plays out.
8/30 – (Guest post from the staff)
Before we begin, on behalf of the staff here at A Too, Inc., I would like to extend our congratulations to both President Trump and former Vice-President Biden on their nominations for the Presidency. We also extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families and friends of George Floyd, Elijah McClain, Cannon Hinnant and the 183,000 victims of COVID-19.
The 2020 election is currently being marketed as a showdown of the two sides of American values. President Trump has adopted the slogan “Help Keep America Great” while Biden has cast the election as “A Battle For The Soul Of This Nation”.
Each convention had a unifying theme. The DNC presented an America that has been torn to shreds by President Trump, with speakers such as Senator Duckworth and former President Obama blasting the Commander-in-Chief for his handling of the allegations of bounties on US troops by Russia and the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the RNC attacked the progressive left, showcasing examples of purported bias in mass media and cancel culture. “Law and Order” was a key topic, with appearances from a police officer and a police widow who cast a grim picture of a post-police landscape. And of course, there was the corona-virus. Amid the claims that China created the virus pushed by Senator Tom Cotton (which has been dis-proven by domestic and international scientists), President Trump doubled down on China, presenting it as a threat to American national security that only he is strong enough to combat.
Dystopian seems to be a common theme in both parties’ narratives. On the one hand, the RNC fully rejected the “socialist left” and appealed to the middle-class voters across all races, picturing a dystopian future under “the Left” where the suburbs are invaded by looters and riots while jobs and properties are thrown to a central US Communist Party. On the other hand, the DNC portrayed a dystopian present driven by the Commander-in-Chief, arguing that we need a person with experience, and casting the President’s character/leadership in the past four years, especially in the pandemic, as self-serving and destructive to all but the wealthiest Americans.
While all these statements are far more nuanced than I have time to do justice to in this post, they all appeal to the collective common-sense in some way or another. Now, “common-sense” is a learned entity, built upon years of experience and schooling, and it is how many will vote in November. In this series, I will examine some of the key issues, present the facts, and only the facts, and allow you as the reader to decide for yourself whom you want to elect as your Commander-in-Chief for the next four years.
8/28 – So last night I watched the final day of the Republican National Convention (Day 4), and I just wanted to present some recurring themes in the rhetoric that could help you to digest all that was said. There were three main points, “anti-China,” “law and order,” and “Trump’s kindness.”
The first point was brought up by many of the speakers, saying that “Joe Biden is soft on China” and “the China virus.” China has been a main target of President Trump throughout his four years in office, with the trade war and the forced closure of a Chinese Consulate. But why is China such a target? President Trump (and the other speakers) create a disparity between the democracy of the United States and the cruel control of the Chinese Communist Party. They also make the point that China is stealing American jobs from the blue collar workers, which comprises a large part of the President’s base.
Another theme from the speeches was law and order. With the outrage over police killings of George Floyd and many others, some have tried to undermine the sentiment of the protesters through looting and pillaging. Speakers like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the President of the Police Benevolent Association of NYC Patrick Lynch portrayed how defunding the police would lead to more crime and hurt the ability of the police to work effectively. In particular, Giuliani spoke about how the administration of the Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio has caused New York City crime levels to skyrocket. He likened this situation to a prospective United States run by Joe Biden and the other Democrats.
The last point that I would like to address is the persona that President Trump adopted during this convention. Throughout his presidency, he has appeared to be a brash figure, promising to be tough on crime, illegal immigration, and people “living off welfare.” However, we saw an empathy for the American people that we have not seen before. Alice Johnson, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for a first-time drug offense, tearfully told us how President Trump heard about her situation and officially pardoned her. President’s daughter Ivanka Trump said that he passed “one of the greatest criminal justice reforms of our generation” to reunite many inmates with their loved ones. Finally, Trump himself stated that he would protect those with preexisting conditions under welfare and Social Security. In closing, I just wanted to say that there were many other small references in the speeches that would appeal to the president’s base. For example, the commitment to pro-life and anti-gay marriage is clearly directed towards evangelicals. Although some may say that the Administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was criminal, the video clips aired during RNC demonstrated the President’s commitment to science and helping the American people through the pandemic. Whatever the statements, there was a clear narrative brought to the table.
I will summarize the Democratic National Convention in the next post. Please stay tuned!
0 Comments