Working Families Party Officially Nominates Cynthia Nixon for Governor

Cynthia Nixon calls for end to school-to-prison pipeline in Harlem as progressive activists commit to contact millions of voters to elect first female governor of New York

  In a show of massive grassroots power, the Working Families Party voted today to give Cynthia Nixon their ballot line and formally nominate her as their candidate for governor of New York.

“I am proud to officially accept the nomination for Governor of New York from the Working Families Party,” said Nixon. “I’m ready to work alongside the thousands of WFP members and activists who will knock on doors and organize in their communities for a New York that belongs to all of us, not just the few.”

Nixon outlined her progressive populist agenda for New York state and called for finally funding NY’s public schools in compliance with the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, strengthening and expanding rent laws across the state, enacting single-payer health care, and making New York a true sanctuary state.

“Racial segregation, chronic underfunding and the over-policing of our public schools are an unholy trinity that are making too many majority black and brown schools more like jails than institutions of learning,” said Nixon. “Let’s just imagine the outcry if this was happening in predominantly white schools.”

With active grassroots supporters in all corners of the state, the Working Families Party will help bring a broad base of support to Cynthia's campaign. Since its inception, the WFP has worked to pull the Democratic Party closer to its voters rather than its big corporate donors. The WFP has successfully campaigned for paid sick and family leave, a $15 minimum wage, criminal justice reform, and making millionaire’s pay their fair share.

“New York is a 2 to 1 Democratic state, and we need a Governor that is as true and blue as it’s people. Governor Cuomo has $31 million in the bank and counting, but we have each other, we have the power of the people. The calvary is not coming to save us, we are the calvary," Nixon said to a fired up crowd.

Earlier this week, Our Revolution, the Staten Island Democratic Association, and the Coalition for a District Alternative all announced their endorsement of Cynthia's bid for governor. In the last few weeks, she has been backed by the Broadway Democrats, Village Independent Democrats, and Three Parks Independent Democrats. This adds to an even longer list of endorsements, including Democracy for America, Daily Kos, New Kings Democrats (NKD), Council Member Carlos Menchaca, the Working Families Party, Make the Road Action, Citizen Action, and the New York Progressive Action Network.