NYC 2021 Elections
I am trying not to pay attention to 2021 elections beyond a handful of my friends running for New York City council and voting in the 21 in ‘21 process last week. I am trying to not focus on 2021 until after this year’s election. If we’ve learned anything in 2020, it’s that we can not predict the future. How the 2020 election turns out will impact 2021 so it is futile to speculate now.
That said, this is what I will be considering when I’m making decisions for 2021.
1/ did the candidate take an active role to help to elect Biden/Harris; flip the U.S. Senate; help down ticket candidates throughout New York State(not just the city) and register and get out the vote? Sitting passively on the sidelines making a few tweets and worrying only about their future race is not enough for me.
Substantive census work and mutual aid also matter to me — I expect it all.
2/ does the candidate have deep, detailed, bold economic and other policies + plans that demonstrate a deep understanding of the full and nuanced situation? I do not want to see the same old trickle down or pass the responsibility policies; singular, shallow, short term fixes; or ideology without clear plans.
3/ if elected, how will the candidate work with other levels of government to find solutions for the issues we face? The city, state, and federal government are linked — they are co-dependent on each other. City electeds cannot not operate in a city only silo if they truly want to bring real change on every issue.
4/ what are the candidate’s specific policy plans on covid recovery, land use, housing, homelessness, hospitals, food insecurity, poverty, small business, the EDC, public schools, policing, climate change, etc. AND how do they plan to get their policy enacted?
5/ is the candidate kind; do they have common sense; do they listen more than they speak; do they listen and will they work solely for their constituents not groups, special interests, or big donors who support them; will they hold regular consistant town halls and work to engage all of their constituents?
