Contrary to popular belief, Manhattan is not the full extent of New York. On March 15th, voters in the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, NY will be voting on Proposition 1 – to move their Village Elections from March to November.

Eleven citizens led by two Young Democrats, Kevin Davis and Brian Pugh, initiated a referendum to move these village elections to November. The consequences of having a separate March village election is lower voter participation than in November and the actual fiscal cost to the village taxpayers of having to conduct their own fully separate separate election.

Common-sense progressive change is not supported by everyone – the Croton-on-Hudson Republican Committee is devoted to stopping this. Their candidates for village office are not only campaigning on their own platform but campaigning against Proposition 1. Despite the opposition from the local Republican political establishment, we have more letters in support in the local paper and are constantly getting neutral press coverage.

Winning this vote is completely doable. Turnout is projected to be 40% of registered voters showing up to the polls to vote on the Mayoral and Trustee Elections and 35% of registered voters voting on the proposition. With such low turnout we need only 1000 voters to win and we will not be able to do it alone.

When we win on March 15th vote, not only will progressive change occur, but it will be a positive headline for the idea that young people can get things accomplished throughout the state.

We hope you will be able to help out our cause.

Thank You,
Kevin Davis and Brian Pugh

What: Voter ID/Persuasion Calls

When: Anytime between now and Wednesday March 7th.

Where: Wherever you want. We send the list and you make the calls

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What: Get Out The Vote Canvass

When: Saturday March 12th, 2:00-5:00pm

Where: Meeting at the Croton-Harmon Train Station
1 Croton Point Avenue
Croton on Hudson, NY

The [State Senate] Democratic Conference has about 1/4 of them…newly -elected in the past year. A number of them have been champions of reform and transparency in the state legislature — between Tony Avella, Gustavo Rivera, David Carlucci, and I’ll include myself in that list… We’ve been waving the flag of reform for a long time, and you can expect all of us to take a role in the Democratic conference in the coming year.

Everyone, by the way, has agreed to these changes — everyone was tripping over themselves to declare themselves heroes of reform… Well, that commitment is going to be put to the test in a couple of weeks when we get to the new session in January. I think the first order of business, since 50-some odd members of the Senate agreed on it and signed a pledge supporting not only independent redistricting, but also ethics and budget reform — that we should take that matter up immediately and get to it as soon as possible, and send a message to the people of this state that we meant what we said, we said what we meant, that it wasn’t just empty campaign rhetoric but we delivered on that promise.

Capitol Tonight via NYS DSCC

José is a product of his parents’ sacrifice and has spent a lifetime working to ensure everyone in our community has the opportunity to succeed.

A proud graduate of Queens Public schools, including PS 14, IS 61 and Flushing High School, José was the first Latino Student Body President of Queens College.

After graduating, Peralta began a career giving back to the community he loves through public service. As a community liaison in the New York State Assembly, José worked to make government more accessible to the families of Queens, solving problems and helping people in need. He then served as the Director of the Commission on the Dignity for Immigrants at the New York City Central Labor Council, representing over 1.5 million union members. Under Peralta’s direction, the Commission championed the mission of empowering all immigrants in a variety of ways, including registering over 20,000 new citizens.

In 2002, at the age of 30, José Peralta was elected to the New York State Assembly. He supports efforts to lift the cap on the number of public charter schools, as well as efforts to make sure students in public schools have access to the best quality teachers. He would make an excellent addition to NY State Senate at a time when that body needs all the smart/committed folks it can get.

Click here for the full text. Peralta is running against Monserrate in this Tuesday’s special election for State Senate.

If Obama has his way, this will longer be the case. The administration has taken the first step in enforcing independent oversight by asking the Office of Management and Budget to draw up the new set of rules for DOD contracting. Meanwhile, the leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), offer their own solution: the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act. Both of them have been sitting on this committee for many years; both have apparently had a "Come to Jesus" moment when it comes to DOD budget transparency.

Or could it be that their ‘reform’ bill is a distraction from the real reform President Obama is seeking ?

Reading the fine print of the Levin-McCain bill provides useful insight. It calls for more competition in contracting but rushes to permit Pentagon bureaucrats to waive requirements whenever they decide such requirements would impair their own vision of “national security objectives.” The bill would create a new “cost czar” to improve price estimates, but he is not given the authority to impose his analysis on hostile weapons system advocates. Elsewhere, the bill relies on DOD to monitor itself and report back to Congress. Having done so fantastically well up to now, DOD is to fill out its own report card.

The Pentagon also lacks the sense that anyone serious is looking over its shoulder. Both in Congress and the office of the secretary of defense, people need to relearn the lost art of oversight. A congressional hearing with ignorant committee members reading questions, sometimes in a huffy tone of voice, is not oversight. Neither are policy wonk types in top Pentagon offices twiddling with organizational charts. The entrenched bureaucrats smirk as they turn such people into “mushrooms” — by keeping them in the dark and feeding them cow manure.