The upcoming election, here and nationwide, is critical for the survival of our (flawed) democracy. While the Democrats do not always live up to our hopes, it is vital that Democrats keep the House and Senate. In this space, over the next few months, Indivisible Onondaga County will highlight ways you can contribute to this effort, as well as to critical NYS races.
CNY Solidarity Coalition does not endorse specific candidates. However, we have no problem opposing a party that has spent the last half-century appealing to racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and fear, all for the benefit of a small group of wealthy capitalists, and to the detriment of the entire planet. (Specifically, for a description of the Southern Strategy that began even before Nixon, see the Wikipedia article Here.)
What can you do?
- Donate or volunteer in the races we will be highlighting.
- Forward this newsletter to friends who might be interested. Suggest they visit our website and sign up for this newsletter
Indivisible Onondaga County (formerly Indivisible NY24) Advocates with federal, state & local legislators to promote democracy reform and other progressive policies; organizes public demonstrations on these issues, often in partnership with other progressive groups; supports progressive candidates in federal, state & local elections. Actions may include rallies for federal legislation, meetings with elected representatives, letters to the editor, phone- and text-banking. Invisible Onondaga County Facebook
NYS Senate Races
One of the outcomes of the NYS redistricting debacle is big changes to the NYS Senate district maps for our area. Current Senators John Mannion and Rachel May are running again on both the Democratic and Working Family party lines, but their districts have changed significantly under the new maps, with new constituents and election challenges. A major issue for attack will be the candidates’ positions on bail reform. Their campaigns will need lots of help turning out voters in November and, as the campaigns ramp up, we can support them by volunteering for canvassing, phonebanking and digital outreach efforts. Financial donations will also help the candidates run strong campaigns.
John Mannion currently represents NY Senate District 50, which includes a good portion of Onondaga Co and a slice of Cayuga Co, and he’s running for the newly-drawn District 50 seat. Although some of the district remains the same, it loses the slice of Cayuga County and western and southern portions of Onondaga Co and adds a good part of Oswego Co, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton. John is running against Republican and Conservative party candidate, Rebecca Shiroff, a Manlius Republican. There are portions of Onondaga and Oswego counties in the newly-drawn district that contain areas favorable to Republicans, so this might be a tight race!
To learn more about John’s work in the Senate, visit his Senate website at www.nysenate.gov/senators/john-w-mannion
To donate or sign-up to volunteer for his district 50 campaign, go to www.mannionforstatesenate.com
Rachel May is currently a strong progressive voice for NY Senate District 53, which includes Madison Co, a portion of Oneida Co and a portion of Onondaga Co, including the city of Syracuse. Under the new maps, Rachel is running in District 48, which includes all of Cayuga and most of Onondaga County, including the cities of Auburn and Syracuse. Rachel’s opponent on the Republican line is Julie Abbot of Skaneateles, a current Onondaga Co Legislator. Julie also ran in the Conservative Party primary, but the results in that primary were so close that it hasn’t yet been called and may be subject to a hand recount. Julie’s opponent for the Conservative line, Justin Coretti, is currently ahead by a small margin. It may advantage Rachel in November to have different candidates on the Republican and Conservative ballot lines, but, either way, she’ll need to run a strong campaign to get her message out to all voters in this newly-drawn district.
To learn more about Rachel’s accomplishments in the Senate, visit her Senate website at www.nysenate.gov/senators/rachel-may
To donate to or get involved in her District 48 campaign, go to www.rachelmay.org