One great anecdote reported in thenewcivilrightsmovement.com describes Assemblyman Nick Perry (D), who voted against Marriage Equality three times prior, voted yes this time. He finally came to the conclusion that “the freedom to live the life you choose to make you happy is a right everyone should enjoy.” Though, just to underscore the ignorance we still face, Assemblyman Dov Hikind held up a photo of Lady Gaga as he voted against the measure – evidently pointing out that if Marriage Equality passes, New Yorkers would be compelled to wear phones as hats.

If you’re interested in this kind of thing, Capitol Confidential has a tally of the vote so you can check on your own representative, as well as a rehash of their live tweets of the debate.

Attention now shifts to the State Senate, which has seen a number of “NO” and UNDECIDED” votes shift to the “YES” column just this week. We only need one more, so please come out to the Marriage Equality phone bank tonight at 5PM. The vote is close and you can make a difference.

Updated: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Assemblyman Jonathan Bing already left the State Assembly to join the Cuomo Administration. He will be departing after this current legislative session. Sorry for any confusion this error my have caused.

It was reported by the NY Times last June that Senator Kruger was being investigated by the FBI.  Details are still coming in.  Check back here or via NY1 for more information as this story develops.

Senator Kruger voted against Marriage Equality.  NY City administrative law judge Igor Oberman was going to challenge him in a primary last year, but he failed to get the signatures necessary to get on the ballot.

The NY Times put together a video of their interview with the couple.  It’s incredibly touching and guaranteed  put you in the Holiday spirit. It will also make you question (for the 100th time) why gay couples are still denied the right to marry in New York.

Some of the better quotes:

“Children believe Santa lives in Chelsea.”

When asked why they decided to try to respond to them: “That, to me, is like saying, ‘well I can’t fix all the world’s problems, so I won’t fix any of them.’”

You can read about the good things people are saying about him on Celeste Katz’s piece here.

Politically, this doesn’t actually mean much for the election in the 38th Senate District. Morahan announced in May that he would not be seeking reelection, and because the seat is becoming vacant after April, there will be no special election to fill the remainder of the term.  Republican Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef will face off in November against either David Carlucci, the 29 year old Town Clerk of Clarkstown, who has been endorsed by Orange County Democrats, Rockland County Democrats, and Nina Lowey or Grant Valentine .

Farewell Senator. You will be missed.

So, how do we reach out and find common ground? If you figure it out, let the rest of us know, but to help you narrow it down a little, I’ll refer you to a recent Town Hall hosted by Republican Gubernatorial candidate Steve Levy. You see, Steve Levy was, until recently, a Democrat. He switched parties to run on the Republican line, and in the video below, he’s making his case to a room full of Tea Partiers. He actually performs some pretty amazing verbal ninjutsu using phrases like “I’ve really evolved on that,” and “Regardless of how you feel about that, here is what we should do.” But, the real eye-opener is the relentless onslaught of political dogma the Tea Partiers throw at him. Give it a look, but give yourself enough time to get past the terrible intro music and graphics.

While we’re on the subject of the 2010 Election season: if you haven’t been paying attention to the candidates, you can start by going to this Attorney General Candidates forum tomorrow night:

Candidate forum for the office of State Attorney General
Thursday, May 6th
Time: 6:30-8:30 pm
Place: Brown Memorial Baptist Church
484 Washington Ave, at Gates Ave in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Closest train stop: C train at Clinton-Washington

On that note, the Census has sent out its questionnaires, and if you’re even thinking about not filling it out or sending it in, read on:

You see, there is a tremendous amount riding on this year’s Census. The political wonk in me wants to wax poetic about the Census’s effects on redistricting: the process which immediately follows the Census where we reexamine each State’s allotment of Congressmembers and redraw our legislative district lines, from Congress to City Council, accordingly. NY will likely lose a congressional seat, and our State Legislature’s lines will be redrawn to either promote or prevent progressive legislation for the next 10 years, depending on the party in power when the lines are drawn.

But, that’s not even the worst consequence on not fulfilling your civic duty. Our esteemed Borough President Scott Stringer just sent me an email that sums it up pretty well:

Based on the results of the Census, the federal government distributes $400 billion in aid among the states – a significant portion of which may benefit New York City.

This funding supports vital social service programs that may affect you or someone you know, such as the Medical Assistance Program for healthcare, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers for public housing, Federal Transit Capital Investment Grants for transportation initiatives, Title I Grants for our schools, Head Start educational programs and many more. Without these programs, thousands of families would go without public housing assistance and New York City children would lack additional educational programs to help them succeed in school. That is why every person must be counted.

The letter goes on to explain that this is a community outreach effort coordinated by Manhattan elected officials and community groups to get the word out.  They have a Facebook group. Become a fan! You can watch a video from the Census below.

Also, watch Christopher Walken answer a Census on SNL 20 years ago here. The Census Bureau does not count candy bars or plants.

Tell me how you really feel.

The special election in New York’s 13th Senate District is beginning to heat up. Hiram Monserrate, who was stripped of his Senate seat last month for his assault conviction, is running for re-election to the SAME SEAT HE WAS REMOVED FROM. Only in New York, folks.

His constituents aren’t happy about it either. His campaign website’s own guestbook contains mostly vehement swears about his job performance, scandal, and poor priorities. My favorite quote: “You are a g–d-m law breaker and you want to continue to make laws for this state?!”  Another good one: “your politics are atrocious, your behavior even more so. I call for your resignation and a public apology to your girlfriend.”

There have only been 6 comments since June 2008, and just in case they wise up and take it down, I’ve provided a screen shot above. But this is an opportunity we just can’t pass up. I’m calling for all MYD members to post their true feelings about Hiram Monserrate on his guestbook by CLICKING HERE. Best comment wins!

Oh, and give some time this weekend to Jose Peralta, the real Democrat running to replace Monserrate in the Senate. Email Alex V. for details:  political@gomyd.com

Hat tip to my buddy Tracey Keij-Denton for this find.

44th Council District

As a Young Democrat living in NYC, you should be aware: there’s an election a comin’ on March 23rd.

Democrats Joe Lazar and David Greenfield will be battling it out against Republican Jonathan Judge for the 44th Council seat (Brooklyn: Midwood, Kensington, Borough Park) vacated by the appointment of Simcha Felder to the office of Deputy Comptroller. Mayor Bloomberg announced the election date today.

Special elections for City Council are a strange specimen. They’re non-partisan, meaning candidates, whether registered with a party or not, have to create their own parties (e.g. Brooklyn for Better Bus Service Party). The term is also very short: from special election day until November, when they’ll have another special election to fill the remainder of the term.

Read more HERE.

Hat tip to Michael Harris, of the Examiner.

Largest US Cities

Last year was tremendous for the Manhattan Young Democrats. We led a fight in our own state on Marriage Equality. We won awards in Chicago and trained young people there how to be awesome. We even picked a fight with the South Carolina GOP.

New York – check
Chicago – check
South Carolina – check

And now, MYD is being cited as an example for a “new model for City-wide or local political activism” by Democratic organizers in Baltimore who are inviting Dems from all over their city to a brainstorming session to reinvigorate their clubs. Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back for setting a new standard. Do it again because you’ve not only gone a long way toward saving the party in New York, but in Maryland as well.

Baltimore – check  … is MYD becoming a national phenomenon?

Special thanks to the Baltimore Chronicle (http://baltimorechronicle.com/2010/012610Dems.shtml) for printing the story, and Al Barry and Kim Forsyth for organizing the meeting in Baltimore and preaching the gospel of Organizing 2.0.

Speaker, Quinn, $28,000

Assistant Majority Leader and Standard & Ethics Chairwoman, Dickens, $15,000

Aging, Lappin, $10,000

Education, Jackson, $10,000

Government Operations, Brewer, $10,000

Higher Education, Rodriguez, $10,000

Lower Manhattan Redevelopment, Chin, $10,000

Parks-Viverito, $10,000

Public Housing, Mendez, $10,000

Technology, Garodnick, $10,000

Of note: Councilmember Charles Barron was stripped of his chairmanship of the Education committee. Rumored to be because of his campaign for Council Speaker. Also, noticeably absent from the list is Councilmember Dan Garodnick, who had previously been the chair of the Committee on Planning. I’m deducting points from myself for being impatient. Azi ended up posting Garodnick’s committee a little later (Tech Committee, a matter close to our hearts!).  It is important to note, however, that Garodnick is forgoing his lu-lu.

Click HERE for Azi Paybarah’s article in the NY Observer.