Letter to the editor

To the editor:

In “City elections spark campus activism,” (Oct. 9, 2009) the Spectator ignored the existence of Green Party candidate the Reverend Billy Talen, for whom I have been working for nearly a year now. Though I’m a registered Democrat, I found that both his campaign and his platform spoke to me in a way those of the other candidates didn’t—though Bloomberg and Thompson will claim they stand for “progress,” the reality is that both candidates are deeply beholden to corporate interests. By contrast, the Reverend promises real change: his campaign emphasizes a commitment to crack down on illegal sweatshops operating within the city, the protection of the First Amendment rights of New Yorkers, and a focus on the economic health of local economies.

Not sure you want real change? Let’s take a look at what we’ve had for the past seven years. Bloomberg vetoed and then challenged in court a law which would require all corporations doing business with New York to provide equal benefits to same-sex couples; he has focused his economic policy almost entirely on Wall Street; when it came time to deal with the budget shortfall of the MTA, Bloomberg approved major service cuts and a fare hike which disproportionately affects those who can least afford it.

Thompson probably wouldn’t be much different: his platform boasts of his campaign to end “taxes, fines, and fees that unfairly hamper the growth of businesses.” What about helping out the people who need help the most, instead of focusing on bubble economies which burst, leaving the city in debt? If Thompson wins—though he almost certainly won’t—we’ll probably wind up with yet another mayor whose solution to homelessness is to ship them off to someplace else.
I’ve been told that if I vote for the Reverend Billy, I’ll just be wasting my vote. My response? As Eugene V. Debs once said, “I’d rather vote for something I want, and not get it than vote for something I don’t want, and get it.” And, really, why should I waste a vote on any other candidate, when they just promise more of the same?

Noah Baron, CC ’11
Student coordinator, Reverend Billy Campaign
Commentariat editor
Oct. 14, 2009