Spring is almost here! even though the air is still cool, the snow is melted, and we turn the clocks ahead on March 14.
~The Marlborough Democratic Committee~ N E W S L E T T E R
Spring 2021
Updates
MDC Chair Jake Marro resigned from his seat, and at the March monthly meeting, Vice Chair Ted Millar was elected chair by acclimation.
Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa held a town hall via Zoom on Feb. 7. Here is the link for those who wish to view it: https://youtu.be/1gGn0BYWqo0.
Members of the Ulster County Democratic Committee held a well-attended (over 300!) nominating convention on February 18 at which 24 candidates were nominated; 36 delegates were nominated to attend the Democratic party's 3rd Judicial District nominating convention in August.
9W Cleanup: April 24 (rain date April 25), 10:00-11:30, meet at CVS in Marlboro. RSVP to democats@mdc-ny.com if you'd like to join us.
The Arbor Day scavenger hunt and hike at the Marlborough Nature Trail is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 1, with a rain date of May 2. Open to all. The first 25 families or people to arrive will receive a FREE red oak tree sapling! (more info to come)
Two MDC members are on the November ballot for town-wide positions: Al Lanzetta (incumbent supervisor), Howard Baker (incumbent town council member).
At the special meeting held on Feb. 19, the MDC voted to switch from a caucus process for candidate nomination to petitioning, as multiple town committees have done. This will be our nominating process going forward unless we decide in the future to revert back to a caucus.
Join Betty Diorio and Mici Simonofsky at a virtual fundraiser for County Comptroller candidate March Gallagher at 3 PM on March 21. By registering online, you will receive a mailing containing a variety of tea bags and March's recipe for her grandmother's famous oatmeal cookies. There will be door prizes for more fun. Most important, March will be bolstered by your moral and financial support seeing our faces, hearing our voices, and answering our questions. Register today at Actblue, or join via Facebook.
“Tag--you’re it!”
We all value our lawmakers’ positions on issues, yet too many people abdicate their civic responsibility in reaching out to elected officials about issues that matter. As a result, many grumble about how politicians “don’t do anything,” or “don’t care what we say”.
But the good ones do. Remember, THEY WORK FOR US!
We should all be contacting our representatives.
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
Rep. Antonio Delgado: 202-225-5614 (D.C.); 443-2930 (Kingston)
Sen. Chuck Schumer: 202-224-6542 (D.C.); 914-734-1532 (Peekskill); 518-431-4070 (Albany)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: 202-224-4451 (D.C.); 212-688-6262 (NYC); 875-4585 (Hudson Valley); 518-431-0120 (Albany)
NYS Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson: 562-0888 (Newburgh); 518-455-5762 (Albany)
NYS Senator James Skoufis: 567-1270; 518-455-3290 (Albany)
You can also find links to the official websites of all our representatives at https://www.mdc-ny.com/representatives.
Looking for another great and easy way to get active?
Download the “5 Calls” app to your phone or tablet. Inputting your zip code will produce a list of representatives and a script you can use to call about a host of provided issues.
There are also many activist groups right here in the Mid-Hudson Valley, like U-Act. We can find many on the Indivisible site.
Writing letters to editors (LTE) of local newspapers is another terrific way to spread the word about legislation and issues while getting makers’ attention. Some of the founders of Indivisible worked as congressional staffers, and attest to the impact LTEs have on elected officials. Here is a great guide on “How to write letters to the editor that really get attention”: https://indivisible.org/resource/write-letters-editor-really-get-attention
Local Newspapers:
But keeping track of legislation can be nearly impossible if we don’t know where to look. A great site dedicated to make Congress more transparent is GovTrack.us. On it we can locate our representatives and bills on issues about which we care the most.
Here are some other useful resources:
NYS Senate: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation
NYS Assembly: https://www.nyassembly.gov/
Legislation Corner
This section is dedicated to spotlighting bills at the state and federal level in which MDC members might be interested.
One piece of legislation current in committee in the Assembly and the state Senate is S8277: (Ramos)/ A10414 (De la Rosa), aka the “Excluded Workers Disaster Income Replacement Fund”.
While two million New Yorkers are currently receiving or are eligible for up to $4,200 a month in unemployment insurance benefits, pandemic unemployment assistance, and pandemic unemployment compensation, undocumented workers, people recently released from incarceration and searching for work, immigrant families of deceased workers, and many in the “informal economy” are excluded.
The bill seeks to “establishes a billionaire mark- to- market tax taxing residents with one billion dollars or more in net assets and directs revenue from such tax into a worker bailout fund; establishes a worker bailout program providing workers traditionally excluded from wage protection programs access to unemployment benefits.”
What can we do?
Call NYS Senator James Skoufis: 567-1270, 518-455-3290 (Albany) and NYS Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson: 562-0888 (Newburgh), 518-455-5762 (Albany) to urge them to support the bill. Make sure you have the bill number handy to tell the staffer recording your call.
Another piece of legislation that’s very close to passing is the New York Health Act, which seeks to provide comprehensive single-payer health coverage for all New Yorkers that would replace private insurance.
On March 8, it was re-introduced with majority support in both the Assembly and the Senate, bringing it closer than ever to making it to Gov. Cuomo’s desk.
Detailed information for it can be found here.
The League of Women Voters recent threw its endorsement behind the NYHA after over a year of research, chapter discussions, and increasing support.
What can we do?
Learn more about the New York Health Act and sign up for updates from the Campaign for NY Health.
Contact your legislators (Sen. Skoufis and Assembly Member Jonathan Jacobson have not co-sponsored it.)
Sign up to phone bank or text bank fellow New Yorkers to teach them about the bill.
Members’ Correspondence
Fellow Citizens of Marlborough,
We no sooner finish one election cycle when we have to think about the next. It was uplifting and a relief that the country overwhelmingly elected Joe Biden as our President. But as Democrats, we barely control the Senate, and our margin in the House could be better.
And it is clear by our past local election results that Democrats face a challenge once again to keep Al Lanzetta as Supervisor and Howard Baker our Councilman in the November 2021 election. So the adage ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL remains the constant for us, the residents and voters of Marlborough.
My annual plea to get information about our candidates, our community, and our campaigns continue:
Follow us on our website www.mdc-ny.com
Follow us on Facebook at Town of Marlborough Democratic Committee, and please share our posts .
Use our email address any time to get information on registering to vote, questions about the process to enroll or vote, or any questions relating to your local Democratic committee: democrats@mdc-ny.com.
Volunteer for any specific type of work with us. We can pair you with any volunteer project we have, depending on your availability of time and talent.
As always, your DONATION to the MDC is always welcome and always needed, should it be $5 or $500, or any denomination in between. You can contribute via our ActBlue page or U.S. mail at: MDC, PO Box 966, Marlboro, NY 12542
My sincere thanks for your ongoing support. It’s always appreciated.
Mici Polizzi Simonofsky
Marlborough Democratic Committee, Member
Election District 1 Representative
Chair’s Correspondence
I want to thank all Marlborough Democratic Committee members for putting their faith in me to lead this committee. We have already had a busy couple of months, and I am hopeful that, as we surmount the pandemic, we will all be together again in person soon.
One of the things I have found inspiring over the past few years is the amount of interest in civic engagement at the grassroots level. All over the country, people who never imagined running for office or doing anything remotely associated with politics are finding purpose and hope in getting progressive policies into the mainstream. As we know, candidates for office only get on ballots due to tireless behind-the-scenes work at the local level. This requires commitment, perseverance, and a fundamental love for democracy and one’s community.
It is such an honor to do this work with you.
My hope is we grow our membership, which is possible through the “Neighbor-to-Neighbor” campaign beginning in April, which serves to help educate fellow town citizens about their county committee representatives and how they can engage with elected officials.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any ideas, concerns, and/or questions about how we can better serve this community we love.
In solidarity,
Ted
Contributions to the Marlborough Democratic Committee can be made electronically via ActBlue or mailed to: MDC, PO Box 966, Marlboro, NY 12542.
Have questions? Email us at democrats@mdc-ny.com.
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