Dear Friends,
As many of you know, over the past year I’ve strongly considered running for City Council in 2017. I deeply appreciate the kind words, encouragement and excitement that so many of you have shown towards this possibility. As I have weighed this decision, I have been attending meetings throughout our area on a weekly basis to pinpoint the greatest needs of our Community and in the process,I have seen how much pride residents have in their communities and also how much resolve they have to make their communities stronger.
At the same time, I've noticed that people’s confidence in government is badly shaken; some believe there's nothing they can do to change things at City Hall. Many feel that decisions and changes that affect the future of their own neighborhoods are kept secret, and that transparency in government seems like a foreign concept. Concerns about the well-being of the community are raised, and are sometimes ignored by those in a position of power to help. Often, the whole truth comes out only after something regrettable occurs
It’s incumbent upon all of us to take a stand and do our best to change the trajectory we’re on. It is with this overarching issue in mind that I’ve formed an exploratory committee to run for City Council. I‘ll champion efforts to improve public participation, town-hall style democracy, transparency in government and most of all - be accountable to you, the voter. We’ve seen in the past few years that when you aren’t given choices, our whole system of government suffers. The people of our neighborhood deserve an open debate and discussion before making their decision at the polls in two years. It’s my intention to provide voters with that discussion. I believe my experience fighting for residents against wasteful bureaucracy for five years as a staff member of the New York Senate and my four years advocating for meaningful changes to our neighborhoods as a community activist gives me a unique insight into the challenges we face. Indeed, I believe these experiences make me the most qualified candidate to seek the office of Council Member at this time.
It is with this in mind that I wanted to invite you to my first fundraiser on Friday Nov. 13th at the D.A. Beach Club in Throggs Neck from 7-10pm at 665 Shore Drive (at the corner of Randall and Clarence Avenues), Bronx NY 10465. I plan to run in the NYC Public Finance System which matches individual donations 6-to-1, this means your money has more power to my campaign, and that together we can stand up to the interests that have no positive interest in our community.
While I can't promise to be able to change everything in this political system, I can promise that I will work tirelessly to hear and champion your concerns, large or small, in our neighborhoods and in City Hall. However, I cannot do this without your help. I ask for your support to improve our communities in the East Bronx.
Thank you,
John
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