Despite first year legislative gains, Governor Cuomo is not setting an example on Campaign Finance Reform, an issue he campaigned on and offered a detailed agenda how to fix when in office. To date he has not only failed live up to his campaign promise, but failed to lead by example on the issue, by raising millions of dollars for his reelection using the same broken system. Only through addressing this issue can Albany be reformed and make state government …

“Capitalism is only as good as the respect it has from its citizens”

New York, NY – After participating in the launch of the 99 New York campaign, a coalition of community groups, labor leaders and businessmen who want to stop state tax breaks for millionaires, Bill Samuels, Founder of New Roosevelt issued the following statement:

I agree that a top priority for Governor Andrew Cuomo and our legislature should …

Bill Samuels, founder of the reform group New Roosevelt, joined State Senator Liz Krueger, Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause, and Elizabeth Caputo, Chairperson of DL21C to blast the continued over-use of special elections, exposing the fact that the boss-driven selection process has had a demonstrably negative impact on the percentage of women representative in Albany.

“The six Assembly Special Elections did not have competitive party primaries that continued the worst traditions of Albany dysfunction. Worse, the process had no accountability to the voters because the candidates were picked by the party leaders not the voters. It is a badly flawed process and a constitutional remedy should be considered,” said New Roosevelt Founder Bill Samuels

Bill Samuels, founder of the Albany reform organization, New Roosevelt, endorsed progressive candidate Jesus Gonzalez, who is running in the hotly contested special election for the 54th Assembly District in Brooklyn, NY. Gonzalez, a Democrat, is running as the Working Families Party candidate and is the only true reform candidate in the primary. Samuels slammed the special election process as badly flawed and patently undemocratic, and one more reason is it difficult for candidates who are not favored by …

By immediately appointing his own non-partisan Advisory Redistricting Committee, Governor Cuomo would allow time to engage communities statewide in a robust public debate on what an appropriate redistricting plan should look like and pressure LATFOR to produce a reasonable plan.

New Roosevelt founder Bill Samuels with a coalition of progressive groups and young activists rallied Saturday afternoon at Riverfront Green Park Pavilion in the City of Peekskill in Putnam Republican State Senator Greg Ball’s district demanding that he keep his word to pass Independent Redistricting in the state legislature.

Senator Jack Martins pledged to pass redistricting reform yet refuses to make good on his word; now his fellow Republicans in the Nassau County Legislature are following his lead.

Saturday, May 14 · 10:00am – 3:00pm

RAIN OR SHINE

10:00AM Free Bus from MSG, 33rd St. between 7th & 8th Aves., Manhattan

12:00PM Rally in Pugsley Park in Peekskill (Rain Location TBA)
Main Street between N. Division St. and N. James St.

1:00PM Free Lunch (Location TBA)

2:00PM Departure for Manhattan and Drop Off at 3:00PM

For more information, to co-sponsor or to RSVP, please email NewRooseveltInitiative@gmail.com or call us at 646-470-1585. For more information on redistricting please visit www.NewRooseveltInitiative.com?

Warns State Senators who have made Ed Koch’s “Enemies of Reform” that they will be potential targets of New Roosevelt Initiative protests if they do not comply with the pledge and pass redistricting reform during current session for the 2012 election cycle and not the 2022 cycle.