Mayoral Debate: Thursday, July 28, at Medgar Evers College

Every four years we New Yorkers get to decide who will be in charge of running our city’s government; who will set policy, determine priorities, represent us. The campaign for mayor of New York City is already in full swing.

Most New Yorkers have little time to study the candidates - their stands on issues, track record, vision for the city’s future. So we decided to facilitate the process of being informed.

Stand on Issues

The Community Service Society (CSS), in conjunction with the DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College, is sponsoring “The People’s Mayoral Debate” to find out where the candidates stand on issues affecting low-income New Yorkers. This is the only mayoral debate scheduled before the primary election on September 13.

The debate will be held on Thursday, July 28, at 8 p.m. at the Founders Auditorium on the campus of Medgar Evers College, 1650 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. Candidates from all parties will take part. The debate will be broadcast live on NY 1.

Candidates often spend much of their time criticizing their opponents or talking about peripheral issues that have nothing to do with the office they are seeking. Sometimes there is a disconnect between what politicians think will get them elected and what the voting public wants to hear them discuss. We intend to see that doesn’t happen. This debate will focus on real issues of concern to working class New Yorkers.

Debate questions will be drawn from CSS’s research reports and our annual survey of low-income New Yorkers, The Unheard Third. This will ensure that candidates respond to the concerns of these New Yorkers whose views are often ignored by politicians, though they constitute one-third of the city’s electorate.

Focus on concerns
of working class

Among the issues discussed will be the high rate of joblessness among the city’s black men, the large number of “disconnected” young people drifting aimlessly - neither in school nor in the labor market – and the high rent burdens that threaten low-income New Yorkers. Candidates’ views on job training, housing assistance, and the link between the school system and jobholding will serve to inform the public about their policy priorities.

They may be asked what they would do about the 25 percent of New Yorkers who are without health insurance - many of them full-time workers – or the nearly 50 percent high school dropout rate, or how best to spend the increased funding the city’s schools will receive because of the successful lawsuit brought by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.

A panel of journalists from NY 1, NY 1 Noticias, the Amsterdam News, El Diario, and KISS-FM will question the candidates. Ed Gordon, host of “News and Notes with Ed Gordon” on Nation Public Radio, and a former news anchor at MSNBC and BET, will join Dominic Carter of NY 1 as the debate moderators.

To attend the debate, take the #2, #3, #4, or #5 train to Franklin Avenue. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis, but we encourage people to RSVP. Please call us at 212-614-5453 or e-mail politicsnyc@cssny.org.

Turnstile Web Blog

In conjunction with the debate, CSS has launched a civic web blog – Turnstile – to stimulate a citywide conversation on issues affecting the working poor. Turnstile provides a dialogue between opinion leaders and the public exploring issues that affect our communities. Its objective is to promote a healthy exchange of ideas with the ultimate goal of seeking solutions to the myriad of challenges facing our city. For a fresh political viewpoint, log on to http://turnstile.cssny.org.

Come to the debate or, if you cannot be there in person, tune in to NY 1 at 8 p.m. on July 28. Get informed – get answers – get involved. It’s your city, too.

NOTE: The last day to register to vote in the September 13 primary is Friday, August 19.

Tune in to “The Urban Agenda” TV program hosted by CSS President David R. Jones on CUNY-TV, Channel 75, every third Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 8 p.m. The program is rebroadcast on the following Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m.

From the New York Amsterdam News
July 21 - 27, 2005