Desperate Squadron, on NY1, doesn't deny robocalls coming from his campaign
Heartbeat away from the Mayoralty
Dear New Yorkers!
My friend and colleague Leticia James was the front runner on primary night in the election for Public Advocate. Yet, because of a crowded field she didn't get 40% of the vote. So now we need to get back to our polling sites and vote for her again on October 1st and encourage our neighbors to do the same.
Councilwoman Leticia James has spent her entire career fighting for working people both in Albany and in the City Council. She’s stood up against stop and frisk, supported laws that increased wages for working people, and fought against the closing of day care centers in our communities. She has the skills and the passion to take help New Yorkers and be their voice at City Hall as Public Advocate. That's why she has my endorsement as well as the endorsement of the Working Families Party (WFP), members of the Black Latino and Asian Caucus of the City Council, NOW NYC, the Tenants Pac, 32BJ and countless unions and Progressive groups.
We need your help making history and electing the first woman of color to citywide office. Please vote on October 1st for Leticia James for Public Advocate.
John C. Liu
Rosie discusses her support for Tish:
Our city is at a crossroads. The next Public Advocate will play a crucial role in making sure New York works for everyone--not just the wealthy and the well-connected. It's why I'm so passionately supporting my friend Councilwoman Letitia "Tish" James for Public Advocate.
Letitia James will take New York beyond Bloomberg and onto a new direction where progressive policies help working-class New Yorkers.
Letitia James has fought for working people throughout her career in public service. As a public defender in the Legal Aid Society, Tish represented children and poor families in court. As an Assistant Attorney General for New York State, Tish fought for economic and social justice for our communities.
In the City Council, Tish sponsored the Safe Housing Act, which helps tenants get emergency repairs. She took on deceptive limited service health centers that denied women the right to choose and voted for Stop and Frisk reforms and a ban on racial profiling. Tish also played a leadership role in passing paid sick leave, so New Yorkers don't have to choose between going to work sick and losing their job.
Simply put, Letitia has the experience and passion to be a great Public Advocate and a fearless fighter for working people. She'll fight for women's rights, immigrants' rights, and stand up for all those who've been left behind in the Bloomberg years. No wonder she's been endorsed by El Diario, the Amsterdam News, and the National Organization for Women (NOW).
Join me in voting for Councilwoman Letitia James in the Public Advocate runoff this Tuesday, October 1st.
--Councilwoman Rosie Mendez
Gloria Steinem
“Letitia James has been on the right side of every social justice fight in recent New York City history. She has bravely stood up for women’s rights, including when she took on deceptive, limited service “health centers” that took advantage of women during their most vulnerable time and denied them the right to choose,” said Gloria Steinem. “Tish spoke out when a racist billboard compared a black woman’s right to choose with genocide. Just as she helped bring that billboard down, Tish will fight to help bring inequality and injustice down. Letitia James has fought for women’s rights by supporting their right to choose; she’s stood up for families by playing a leadership role in passing paid sick leave; and she represents our best chance to make sure our government reflects the people it serves. I’m proud to endorse Councilwoman Letitia James for Public Advocate and urge my fellow New Yorkers to join me in voting for her on October 1st.”
Citizen Action of New York:“Letitia James has been on the right side of every social justice fight in recent New York City history. She has bravely stood up for women’s rights, including when she took on deceptive, limited service “health centers” that took advantage of women during their most vulnerable time and denied them the right to choose,” said Gloria Steinem. “Tish spoke out when a racist billboard compared a black woman’s right to choose with genocide. Just as she helped bring that billboard down, Tish will fight to help bring inequality and injustice down. Letitia James has fought for women’s rights by supporting their right to choose; she’s stood up for families by playing a leadership role in passing paid sick leave; and she represents our best chance to make sure our government reflects the people it serves. I’m proud to endorse Councilwoman Letitia James for Public Advocate and urge my fellow New Yorkers to join me in voting for her on October 1st.”
Citizen Action has proudly endorsed Tish James, and for a simple reason: over the last decade-plus, there has not been a single more active, reliable and hardworking advocate for progressive values in New York City than Tish.
She has stood up to Michael Bloomberg time and time again, on issues of education, term limits, and police oversight. She has fought for workers and the middle class, and been unafraid to stand up to the rich and powerful in New York.
She was even the first candidate EVER elected [only] on the Working Families Party line.
Tomorrow, you have a chance to cast a vote that really counts, and I urge you to cast it in support of Letitia James for Public Advocate.
# # #
The pundit assessment on NY1 was that a candidate going the negative road (anonymous negative robocalls) at the late hour of the campaign was a sign of desperation. Read below the reportage in Politicker and watch the segment on Errol Louis' Road to City Hall yesterday on NY1:
In a tense NY1 interview on the eve of tomorrow’s Democratic runoff, Mr. Squadron was pressed repeatedly about whether his camp was responsible for a 15-second anonymous message left on many voters’ answering machines purporting to be from a woman named “Katie.”
In the call, the woman says that Ms. James has “lost her trust and lost her vote” because of aDaily News editorial that reports the candidate had failed to donate her council bonus to charity, as she’d previously claimed she would.
At first, Mr. Squadron tried to brush aside the question by telling host Errol Louis he had not yet heard the call. “There’s a specific phone call that went out,” Mr. Louis said. “It purports to be somebody saying, ‘Oh, hi this is so-and-so. Oh, did you know that Tish James X, Y and Z?’ Says a lot of negatives stuff. ‘I can’t trust her, I’m not going to vote for her. Bye.’ And there’s nothing else … You’re saying this did not come from your campaign?”
“No, I’m saying that I haven’t heard it,” Mr. Squadron began.
But Mr. Louis kept on pressing. “Well I don’t care whether you heard it, did it come from your campaign?” Mr. Louis asked, eventually offering–and then playing–the robocall live on the air.
Mr. Squadron responded by alleging the existence of a robocall from an Obamacare-opposing “Daniel Squadron,” which his spokeswoman called “reprehensible” and “outrageous” earlier this evening.
“Look, I heard about a robocall going out this weekend claiming that I was against so-called Obamacare, which I’m not. Everything that my campaign has done … has been based on facts that are relevant to this office,” Mr. Squadron replied.
Mr. Louis finally gave up.
“Alright, because you’re not answering the question,” he said, “I’m going to assume that your campaign put out that anonymous robocall and I think most of our viewers are going to assume the same thing. Are you okay with that?”
“People are going to assume what they want to assume,” replied Mr. Squadron.
His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Listen to the robocall below:
[Go to the Politicker website for the robocall tape]
Squadron's awkward negative last hour encounter with Errol Louis:
[Go to the Politicker website for the robocall tape]
Squadron's awkward negative last hour encounter with Errol Louis:
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