2018 Primary Won 54 – 46

2018 General Election Elected 93 — 7

A New York Story; a Brooklyn story –

This may turn out better than the Virginia story.

Yes Virginia. There could be a Democratic majority. Not quite in 2017, Democrats needed 17 seats to gain a majority in the House of Delegates — truly a lot of seats.  They got 15.  Close enough so that Virginia is considering opting for the Medicaid portion of the Affordable Care Act.

Yes New York. There can be a Democratic majority.  New York doesn’t have a Democratic legislative majority?  Not in the Senate. 

Until a few days ago, an organized group of Democrats plus one Democrat not in that group, cooperated with the Republicans so the Republicans organized the Senate.  The group, the IDC, has made a deal with Governor Cuomo promising to join with other Democrats.

Don’t fool me twice. Zellnor Myrie http://zellnorforstatesenate.com/ doesn’t believe the IDC.  They have been siding with the Republicans for almost ten years.  Zellnor Myrie thinks, I think, many Democrats think — if the calculus after the 2018 election works better for the IDC to join the Republicans again, they will join the Republicans again. 

Like most of the Democrats opposing IDC members in the primaries, Zellnor Myrie began his campaign before the IDC deal with the GovernorZellnor Myrie is continuing his campaign despite the deal with the Governor.  Yes, New York. There can be a Democratic majority in the Senate.  That majority should not depend on the IDC.

A graduate of Cornell Law School, Zellnor Myrie has been an associate at  the international law firm, Davis, Polk, and Wardwell.  His interest is politics.  His story begins with his mother. 

His mom immigrated from Costa Rica, lived briefly with a friend and got a job in a factory.  She worked, raised Zellnor  mostly on her own in a rent-stabilized apartment.  She made sure Zellnor Myrie went to strong New York public schools — culminating in Brooklyn Tech High School.  His dad, a New York Public School Special Education teacher, helped in the search for good schools. 

Education found Zellnor MyrieZellnor Myrie found politics.  He went to Fordham, got a BA in communication and an MA in urban studies.  He got a job as legislative director for a city councilman (a retrograde on gay rights and other social issues), helped get some legislation passed, and learned a lot.  Then law school. 

Cornell. Ivy League. His commitment to politics became a commitment to social justice.   He taught law in prison.  He passed the bar early and went to work for a criminal justice reform organization. 

Zellnor Myrie did not neglect the Cornell experience.  He was law school student body president and an editor of the Journal of Law and Justice.  Like many in his cohort, he went on to a big law form.  His interest remained politics.

Zellnor Myrie’s run for a state Senate seat from Brooklyn is based, in part, on his dismay at the IDC’s role in preventing 1) a New York Dream Act to include DACA eligible DREAMERS in New York college tuition assistance, 2) the women’s assistance act which would have codified Roe v Wade into New York law, 3) protection of LGBTQ New Yorkers from discrimination, and 4) more comprehensive health care for New York.

Myrie’s campaign issues include a focus on immigrants,  LGBTQ rights, and women’s health.  His other issues include

  • affordable housing,
  • criminal justice including an end to cash bail and a requirement for a speedy trial.
  • increased education funding to comply with a court order that demands that funding

Zellnor Myrie http://zellnorforstatesenate.com/ is an appealing candidate.  Help him get elected.  This is a young man with a future.