Dear Neighbor,
As you prepare to go to the polls on Tuesday, August 23, to vote in the primary election for Congress and State Senate, I want you to know why I cast my vote for Conrad Tillard.
● Of the three candidates running for office, Tillard was the only one who asked for my vote, pledged to listen to and fight for our collective needs, and work as a true partner to me in state government
● He understands the need to work with me and New York State Homes and Community Renewal to develop a local and more equitable housing strategy for landlords and residents that creates truly affordable housing and home ownership opportunities
● I look forward to working with him as an experienced CUNY professor, and the State Education Department to strengthen our educational and STEAM training pipeline into 21st Century careers for our young people, returning citizens, and older adults
● I am confident that he will work with me to utilize the full force of our offices to ensure the State Department of Health expands and makes more accessible mental health services, quality maternal health services, and help to reduce the rising cases of HIV, HepC, COVID-19, and Monkeypox
● Moreover, he will model positive public relationships that promote peace, safety and understanding and does not incite violence.
Despite the fact that Senator Brisport did not ask for my support, I feel it necessary to explain why I could not offer an endorsement or remain neutral. I must set the record straight.
● Brisport’s conduct before being elected in 2020 and since assuming office as the State Senator for the 25th Senate District has been disrespectful, exclusive, and insidious.
● He had no track record of service to the Bedford Stuyvesant and Crown Heights communities before 2020.
● He has totally ignored the traditional leadership and voters in his own District, and failed to find any common ground to improve our community.
● His anti-charter school ideology should not supersede the rights of thousands of parents to choose where and how their children are educated
● He failed to prioritize the Senate Reparations bill that would have moved Black people one step closer to receiving reparations for 400+ years of chattel slavery
● He was unwilling to collaborate with our local Redistricting Committee and elected officials to protect our district lines
● He has totally ignored the traditional leadership and voters in his own District, and failed to find any common ground to improve our community.
● His anti-charter school ideology should not supersede the rights of thousands of parents to choose where and how their children are educated
● He was unwilling to collaborate with our local Redistricting Committee and elected officials to protect our district lines
● He repeatedly attacked me on Twitter for not supporting the Good Cause Eviction (GCE) bill. This despite the fact that I was not in a position to help pass because I do not sit on the Housing Committee.
● He failed to condemn the individuals who went to my family home to protest my non support of the bill in its current form. Instead, he amplified those deeds on social media instead of having a face-to-face conversation with me (his colleague and constituent) about why he thought I should support the bill. Moreover, as the sitting Senator who supported this bill, he could have at any time, held a community forum about GCE, invited the sponsors, and advocates to present the case for the legislation before the community. Yet he failed to do so because he is more interested in scoring political points than in affecting real change.
The 56th District is a family. We love each other, fight, and disagree but eventually, we come to the table to work it out.
I urge you to use Tuesday, August 23, as an opportunity to vote your values, and as a personal pledge to hold your elected officials accountable. Communication is the key to any successful relationship, and it starts with you and I; neighbor to neighbor; elected official to constituent. We are all in this together. Let’s stay connected and continue to work together to build the community we want to see!