Sunrise NYC Adds 5 Progressives to 2020 Endorsement Class
For Immediate Release
June 5, 2020
Contact: Sunrise NYC Political Endorsements Team
Email: sunrisenycendorse@gmail.com
After days of sustained nationwide protest honoring the life of George Floyd, the Sunrise Movement’s NYC Hub endorses five state legislative candidates committed to criminal justice reform, policing overhauls, and a Green New Deal.
NY, NY — Today, Sunrise NYC completes its 2020 Primary political endorsements process with endorsements of five candidates. They have what it takes to secure a Green New Deal that combats the climate crisis and improves the lives of working New Yorkers.
Sunrise NYC endorses State Senators Jessica Ramos and Michael Gianaris (Queens), Assembly Member Dan Quart (Manhattan), and Assembly candidates Jessica González-Rojas (Queens) and Marcela Mitaynes (Brooklyn).
In partnership with CPR Action and VOCAL-NY Action Fund (Communities United for Police Reform and Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders’ sibling organizations), Sunrise NYC advanced police-reform planks and called on endorsed candidates to demand racial justice.
These five candidates commit to racial justice. They support:
1. Defunding the police and investing in communities*
2. Fighting for decarceration
3. Rejecting all campaign contributions from cops and correctional officers and other law enforcement unions**
4. Firing police who abuse their authority and use violence against communities
5. Full and immediate transparency of police budgets, misconduct, and discipline records
*Defunding means scaling back police budgets and reallocating those resources to other non-carceral agencies and social services. It does not mean eliminating a department’s budget or abolishing it altogether. Learn more here.
**If the candidate previously accepted donations, they must donate said contributions to bail funds and/or mutual aid organizations.
From the Senate Deputy Majority Leader to inspiring insurgents running for the first time, there is broad consensus that it is high time for racial justice and a critical reassessment of Albany’s relationship with the police. The unity among these candidates vindicates the power of movement politics, be it taking to the streets to demand that politicians value black lives or occupying a Capitol Hill office to wake Congressmembers to the severity of the climate crisis.
Gianaris, González-Rojas, Mitaynes, Ramos, and Quart are Sunrise NYC’s final endorsements before the Primary. They join:
• Alessandra Biaggi, SD-34
• Jamaal Bowman, NY-16
• Jabari Brisport, SD-25
• Costa Constantinides, Queens BP
• Phara Souffrant Forrest, AD-57
• Samelys Lopez, NY-15
• Zohran Mamdani, AD-36
• Zellnor Myrie, SD-20
• Yuh-Line Niou, AD-65
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, NY-14
• Julia Salazar, SD-18
Sunrise NYC’s hundreds of youth activists know that winning change takes more than endorsement graphics. We will do what it takes to send these progressive leaders to Albany. The hub is on track to make over 50,000 calls for endorsed candidates by June 23rd.
In addition to running a robust field program, Sunrise NYC has raised tens of thousands of grassroots dollars, and has hosted forums and debates that have reached thousands of New Yorkers eager to support Green New Deal champions. Pairing people-powered campaigns with these tactics led Sunrise NYC-endorsed candidate Jamaal Bowman to outraise Eliot Engel (NY-16) in the last financial reporting period of that premier race.
Sunrise NYC is Sunrise Movement’s largest hub in the region. Its hundreds of active volunteer-members fight for a Green New Deal that stops climate change and creates millions of good jobs along the way. In 2018, Sunrise NYC proved vital in defeating the IDC in the NY State Senate and in expanding progressive majorities by mobilizing around Alessandra Biaggi, Zellnor Myrie, and Andrew Gournades.
###