Democratic Chair Lafayette Disconnected on Poverty , Fair Housing, Income Inequality and Police Oversight

click here for video

We would like every Democrat to watch this interview of the Westchester Democratic Chairman Reginald LaFayette. When many Democrats are fighting for social justice our own chairman is the invisible hand, keeping us from our goals. 

When Blacks are shot and killed and families ask for an Independent Investigator, Lafayette is against it. Is this why Mr. Lafayette has been a no show at rallies and forums on police and community relations throughout Westchester? Since the killing of Mt. Vernon Detective Christopher Ridley, Mr. Lafayette has defended the actions of Democratic District Attorney Janet Difiore buffoonery and selective prosecution of black, brown and poor people of Westchester County. 

When families rally to address the ills of poverty, Lafayette has no answer , he took no position,   he rather pass the responsibility off to elected officials that he has endorsed as Democratic Chairman to carry the burden. 

His position is far from the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Being a leader of the national Democratic Committee she showed her leadership by addressing poverty head on in a statement in the Huffington Post.

" Right now there are people in this nation who don't know how they're going to pay for tomorrow's dinner, let alone next month's rent , she said,  A raise of the federal minimum wage is one of those common-sense proposals that is both good for the economy and good for the country. Considering there has not been an increase since July 2009, workers who depend on these wages have been losing income to inflation for over four years. A raise is long overdue ." 

After  the highly publicized federal desegregation case against the county government and a federal judges ruled that Westchester was segregated, when Lafayette is asked is Westchester segregated he responds, 'No people segregate themselves.  When question about the homeless in Westchester, Lafayette does not believe its that high. When questioned on addressing the injustices in Westchester, Mr. Lafayette claims he has been around. Where has Mr. Lafayette been? What injustices has he stood up for? 

As Democrats we have witnessed the Wizard from behind the curtain and those that actually believed our Chairman believed in the same values that we have been marching, rallying and meeting for; if you believe it now, you are clearly living in his manufactured Oz!

Rob Astorino wants Westchester Residents to pay for his Mistakes- Astorino Has Not Denounced Republican Jim Coughlan for his racist tweet

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino has the audacity to offer a band-aid solution to the money being withheld by the federal government over the county's compliance with a major fair housing settlement in the recent state of the county address. He intends to borrow it. Astorino said borrowing for the $5 million to fund sidewalks, affordable housing, nonprofit programming and other local development initiatives would cost households about $1 a year.

What our Republican candidate for Governor is offering is another con artist trick. He tells you that he is saving you money in one hand but he asks you to please pay to support him for an unjust stance against equity and Civil Rights that has cost county taxpayers millions in federal grants in the other hand.   What Astorino is doing is an insult to the Civil Rights movement and the progression of racial equity in Westchester County and sets a terrible tone for politics in New York.    Astorino actually believes that Westchester African Americans, Latinos, and other minorities who have been historically discriminated against through these zoning  laws will actually pay $1 to substitute the financial lost of Astorino's defiance.    According to reports Astorino has lost a total of 20 million of grants because of his hard separatist stance since taking office.    In is false cause for “removing the Department of Housing and Urban Development influence” many  local towns and cities will suffer tremendously.   Its reported that loses will include  $150,000 for the Lent Cove park in Buchanan; $75,000 for the Martin playground in Cortlandt;$67,000 for sidewalks in Elmsford; $100,000 for Waverly Avenue improvements in Mamaroneck; $125,000 for sidewalk repair on Grove Street and Brookside in Mount Kisco; $200,000 for sidewalk and infrastructure repairs on South and Brown streets in Peekskill;$383,000 for sidewalk and sewer repairs in Port Chester; $262,000for lighting and pedestrian safety improvements in Sleepy Hollow; and$150,000 in improvements to Downing Drive, Commerce Street, and Veterans Road in Yorktown.   With Rob Astorino's continuous Separatist stance, the loss of governmental grants that has adversely effected many cities and towns in Westchester County. He has the audacity to ask county taxpayers to fund his defiance. New Yorkers Just Cant Afford Astorino as Governor!

Will Rob Astorino denounce his Republican colleague Jim Coughlan, who is currently the Dutchess County Controller and a candidate for state Senate for his racial rants on twitter against MSNBC News Host Melissa Harris-Perry?

“Keep your stinking paws off my kid, you damned dirty ape.” Coughlan tweeted Any form of racism has no place in our New York Government If Rob Astorino wants to lead the state of New York he must be brave enough to denounce his own Republican Party member when they are wrong! Blatant racial statements like this has no place in Party Politics! Unless you believe in it!

Rob Astorino's latest Campaign Email Uses Local Zoning Laws as a Cover to his Separatist Campaign

In Rob Astorino's recent campaign email he continues his Separatist ways by labeling an organization that brought a desegregation lawsuit in Nassau County as a "Social Justice" organization. What does Astorino mean when he says "Social Justice"? Is that something you believe in?   What the Astorino campaign is doing is using what Ian Haney López, author of Dog Whistle Politics calls "racial code words"    "This sort of coded speech operates on two levels," he says. "It triggers racial anxiety and it allows plausible deniability by crafting language that lets the speaker deny that he's even thinking about race." Mr. Astorino is using the "local zoning laws", his "overreaching of government stance", labeling an organization "social justice"  with a dash of anti- Obama by using "cronies in DC" to scare a certain type of voter that believes in his separatist mindset to the poles. In our last email we clearly explained the history of how local zoning laws prohibited African Americans and Latinos from buying and renting homes in Westchester and Nassau Counties.    The Journal of Land and Public Utility  reported that by 1947, the majority of houses in Westchester, Queens and Nassau counties had covenants prohibiting sales to African Americans.    Andrew Beveridge, a demographer at Queens College in New York who was a expert witness in the Westchester County suit stated "The segregation patterns were laid down early in Westchester County, were certainly set by the 1950s,and they continue today.    How can Rob Astorino defend local zoning laws when these same laws were created to keep African Americans and Latinos out of these same communities?    The Astorino campaign has completely ignored experts,has been defiant to a settlement and has remained constant in keeping laws that over decades have adversely kept African Americans out of specific communities.  Astorino's  position in keeping African Americans and Latinos out of communities that historically kept them out through their zoning laws is no different than LA Clippers owner Ron Sterling attitude when he said, "he does not want blacks in his stadium".     Blaming the Federal Government for overreaching when they try to correct local zoning laws that adversely affect African Americans and Latinos of lower economic lifestyle from buying or renting homes is like blaming NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for overreaching when he penalized the LA Clippers owner  Ron Sterling for not wanting blacks in his stadium.  Mr. Astorino, this is not about the Taxpayer!  First you supported a Segregated Westchester now You are running for Governor on a Segregated New York!

Westchester Independence Party wins appeal to kick out nearly 4,000 of its members

Westchester Independence Party wins appeal to kick out nearly 4,000 of its members

lohud.com

The party endorsed his Democratic rival but pursued a purge of the membership of nearly all the voters who registered with it after the beginning of 2012.

The purge of 4,000 members cuts the party down by about 17 percent.

Supreme Court Judge Robert DiBella at the end of February allowed the party to kick out 31 members after he was presented with evidence that they were not in sympathy with the principles of the party, the standard in state law for removing members. The law is designed to prevent raids on minor parties that would turn them into adjuncts of the major parties.

The party appealed DiBella's ruling on the other 3,000-plus members who didn't show up to party hearings or send letters contesting their removal. In a ruling Wednesday, the Appellate Division said failing to appear or respond was sufficient evidence under state law.

Peter Tilem, the lawyer for the Independence Party, said it gives the loyal members their vote back.

"When you have 4,000 people that are enrolled in your party that are doing it to subvert the principles of the party it damages the party," he said.

The voters will still be able to cast ballots but will be moved to the unaffiliated column.

The Failed Republican Party Raid of the Independence Party

As part of its continuing effort to thwart what its leaders said was a Republican raid of the party, the Independence Party of Westchester succeeded in persuading a state judge to allow it to kick out 31 party members at the end of February.

But in the same decision, state Supreme Court Judge Robert DiBella refused to accede to the party’s request to remove nearly 4,000 other members, saying the party didn’t present enough evidence that each individual was not in sympathy with the party’s principles as required by state law. But the party has appealed the decision and will be back in court on Friday at the Appellate Division in Brooklyn.

“We’re seeking to get the judge overturned on the rest of them,” said Peter Tilem, the lawyer for the party.

Independence Party leaders have said the large number of new members of the Independence Party in 2012 and 2013 were the result of a deliberate plan by the Republican Party to take control of the party, remove the leadership and get the ballot line for Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino in his reelection last year. Some of the new members had clear ties to the county executive and his top lieutenants while others said they enrolled to try out an alternative to the major parties.

Astorino, a Republican now running for governor, lost the chance to get the party line in August when his primary election write-in bid was invalidated by Judge DiBella. DiBella ruled that the petitions were filed late and also agreed to disenroll six members of the Independence Party who filed the petitions, rendering them invalid. Astorino lost again on appeal.

In his gubernatorial campaign, Astorino has said he will not accept the Independence Party line because the party stands for only its own self-interest. He is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to do the same.

Emboldened by the earlier win, the Independence Party leadership last fall brought both the state case to disenroll nearly 4,000 members and a federal case alleging an illegal raid on the party to control the outcome of the primary election. A pre-motion conference in the federal case is set for April 2.

Most of the 31 people removed from the party (who kept their registrations as unaffiliated voters) in the latest case said they had enrolled by mistake or agreed to being disenrolled.

Astorino's Hypocracy known all over New York State

Despite  Astorino's criticizing the Independence Party as corrupt today, Rob Astorino has made a combined $14,750 in political contributions to the political party since 2007, including a personal check for $3,000 in 2008, all in an attempt to secure their endorsement in his various races over the years. In fact, Rob Astorino sought and received the Independence Party endorsement in 2003 and 2009 when he ran against incumbent Westchester County Executive Andy Spano.
 
Just last year as he was gearing up for his reelection, Astorino made a contribution of$6,000 in May in the hopes of persuading the Independence Party to endorse him once again. When the party went with his challenger, he then tried to hijack the Independence Party nominating process by having his friends, family, and staff register as Independents to carry nominating petitions for him. In the end, a judge invalidated his petitions and called him out on the shady practice.