A REGIONAL INITIATIVE
SUPPORTING EMPOWERMENT
in the Capital Region of New York State
SUPPORTING EMPOWERMENT
in the Capital Region of New York State
a Gamaliel Foundation affiliate
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A REGIONAL INITIATIVE
SUPPORTING EMPOWERMENT in the Capital Region of New York State a Gamaliel Foundation affiliate |
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ARISE CHALLENGES CANDIDATES
TO PROTECT OUR VOTE Tuesday night, October 3,
2006,
7:00pm, at Christ the King RC Church in Guilderland (20
Sumpter Ave which is off Rte 20, east of Rte 155), over 500 members of
25
religious, interfaith and neighborhood organizations from Albany,
Schenectady and Troy will gather to press candidates running for office
to make public commitments on issues of pressing concern.
Here are the issues, a paragraph of background information, and the commitments that will be asked of the candidates. 1. Reliable Election Practices Background:
Responding to the Federal “Help America Vote Act”
of 2002, states are required to update their voting machines in
compliance with this law. Rather than making a decision at the
state level, it delegated the decision of voting machines to each
county
with no requirements beyond the law. At issue is whether the
voting
machine to be selected can be verified and a recount can be authorized
if
there are errors or a machine malfunctions. Direct Recording
Electronic (DRE’s) machines such as touch screen electronic systems do
not allow recounts and can fail or be tampered with in such a way that
will not permit a recount. Paper Ballots can be electronically
scanned to tabulate them and, in the case of a contested election, can
be
recounted.
Challenge: Ask candidates to support “optical scan” paper ballots as the only technology available that permits a recount. 2. Department of Transportation Support for Workforce Development Background:
Several big construction projects, including the
Albany Convention Center and Luther Forest, promise to supply many
construction jobs in the coming years. Construction jobs are important
ways to bring needed wages to low-income people as they strive to lift
themselves out of poverty. Many of these jobs require
training. Resources for training and apprenticeship programs are
scarce. The New York State Department of
Transportation
receives billions of dollars of which it may designate up to 0.5% of
that
money for workforce development such as training programs for
low-income
people to enter the building trades.
Challenge:
Ask candidates for statewide office
to support the Department of Transportation allocating the full 0.5% of
those funds for workforce development.
3. Expanding Liberty Partnerships Background:
Liberty Partnerships is a tutoring and support
program for students at risk of failing middle and dropping out of high
school. The program has a 97% success rate getting these at risk
students to graduate. In addition, 84% of the graduates go on to
college. It is one of the most successful programs of its
kind. Right now the program operates in Albany and Schenectady
but
not in Troy, Lansingburgh and Cohoes.
Challenge:
Ask candidates for an increase of
resources from 12 to 19 million that will permit the program to be
expanded to Troy, Lansingburgh and Cohoes.
4. Calling a New York State Housing Summit Background:
Affordable housing has not been a priority for the
Pataki administration. The amount of affordable housing has been
in
decline. Homelessness has been on a steady increase. Today
there is no state plan to address this growing crisis.
Challenge: Ask candidates to commit to:
5. Finish the Reform of Rockefeller Drug Laws Background:
The recent attempt at fixing problems with the
Rockefeller Drug Laws left many inequities in place.
Challenge: Ask candidates to finish the job. 6. Fair Immigration Reform Background:
Many immigrants to this nation are the backbone
of our economic system. Yet they are often treated without
fairness
and justice.
Challenge: Ask candidates to support fairness and justice in immigration reform. These
six areas are of vital importance to the members of ARISE.
Please attend this meeting to find out which candidates are behind
ARISE
and which ones didn’t show up to respond to ARISE’s challenge.
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235 Lark Street, Albany, NY 12210
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