Blog

This month the New York State Young Democrats hosted “Women, Politics & Opportunity: Where Are We Going?” a panel discussion exploring the ever expanding role of women in politics. Each panelist spoke about their unique experience in politics and offered encouraging insights about the prospect of women becoming more involved in the political arena. The panelists ranged from communications professionals to elected official

The panelists were Teri Coaxum, Deputy State Director, Office of Senator Chuck Schumer, Cynthia Darrison, of Darrison, Barret & Associates, Gigi Georges, Partner, Glover Park Group and National Democratic Party Consultant, NYC Councilwoman Diana Reyna, and Karen Persichilli Keogh, State Director, Office of Senator Hillary Clinton.

The eclectic panel stressed the importance of networking and relationship building in order to advance the careers of women in politics. The panel also felt that working hard to show commitment and skill in accomplishing difficult tasks were paramount to success. The night was capped by a brainstorming session where young dems and panelists discussed revitalizing the New York State Young Democrats’ Women’s Caucus.

Amy Sterner was elected Chair of the NYSYD‘s Women’s Caucus and Sadique Robinson was elected co-chair. “The New York State Young Democrats Women’s Caucus will help energize young women into becoming more active within the party and becoming more involved in the political process,” said NYSYD President Frieda Menos.

She continued, “I am excited to have our Women’s Caucus lead the way for young women in our state. With important elections headed our way it’s important that we, as women, make our voices heard and presence felt in the political arena and there’s no better time to start than right now.”

New York, November 2 – On Wednesday, October 18, 50 young Democrats met at the Noche Lounge in Albany, NY to participate in the second installment of New York State Young Democrats “Young Dems After Dark – Central Region.” The series of campaign-year events are designed to mobilize young democrats and young professionals alike to become involved in this years November elections. Earlier this year the New York State Young Democrats organized an “After Dark” event in New York City, which allowed over 100 young Democrats and elected officials from around the state to come together and for the fall elections.

NYSYD President, Frieda Menos said, “After our extremely successful event in New York City, we wanted to continue the momentum we built for the crucial fall elections. We built upon our success in New York City and brought that energy upstate. Albany Young Dems After Dark was a success.”

Speakers included State Senator Neil Breslin, Tracey Brooks, Regional Director for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Kenneth Brynien, NYS President of the Public Employees Federation (PEF), Frank Hoare, Jr., Executive Director of the NYS Democratic Committee and Chief Counsel for the NYS Assembly Ways and Means Committee, Bethany Schumann-McGhee, Chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee and Albany Common Councilmember Corey Ellis. 20th district Congressional Candidate Kirsten Gillibrand spoke about her campaign and the need to change the direction of the nation. She encouraged the audience to join her campaign to help her beat Republican Incumbent John Sweeney this November.

At the New York City event, Democrat speakers included New York State Senate Deputy Minority Leader Eric Schneiderman, State Senator Diane Savino, Democratic Senate Campaign Committee Chair and Senator Liz Krueger, Assemblyman Karim Camara, Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick, as well as NYC Council Members Leroy Comrie, Eric Gioia, John Liu and David Weprin from Queens. As well as, State Senate Candidate Brian Keeler who energized the crowd with the importance of coming out to vote this fall.

“I truly believe that the American people need and want real change. Young Democrats around the country and right here in New York can really make that difference this November,” said Menos.

New York, August 11 – Wednesday night the New York State Young Democrats (NYSYD) hosted “Young Dems After Dark”, a fundraiser to enable the organization to implement programs that will channel the energies of young Democrats to make an impact in the fall campaigns. The event brought together over 100 young Democrats from around the state and elected officials to connect with one another and build momentum for the upcoming elections.

Frieda Menos, President of the NYSYD said, “I am thrilled to see so many young people here supporting their fellow Democrats this election year. It is vital that young Democrats become involved especially during such a critical point in our nation’s history. Our demographic can really make the difference in crucial races around the country and right here in our home state.”

The young professionals, Democrats and activists gathered throughout the night at Via Bistro in downtown Manhattan to hear special guests and elected officials speak about the importance of becoming involved in the political process. The event kicked off with a speech by NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum who encouraged the crowd to use their youth and energy to move the democratic agenda forward this election season.

“The level of civic and political engagement of the NYS Young Dems is tremendous and is so desperately needed right now. As the Founder and Chair of SHOW UP New York, which is focused on increasing the level of civic engagement among young people and people of color across New York State, I was honored to have participated in the Young Dems After Dark event, and I look forward to continuing to work with the NYS Young Dems to help make our great state better than ever,” said Leecia Eve, former candidate for Lieutenant Governor and founder of SHOW UP New York.

Other Democrat speakers included New York State Senate Deputy Minority Leader Eric Schneiderman—introduced by State Senator Diane Savino as the Senate’s future Majority Leader, Democratic Senate Campaign Committee Chair and Senator Liz Krueger, Assemblyman Karim Camara, Rockland County Council President Chuck Lesniak, as well as NYC Council Members Leroy Comrie, Eric Gioia, John Liu, and David Weprin from Queens. The audience cheered at Senator Savino’s call to take back the State Senate from the Republicans. State Senate candidate Brian Keeler energized the crowd by highlighting the importance of political participation and citizen journalism, which he attributed to Ned Lamont’s victory over Senator Joe Lieberman in Connecticut.

In his fifth State of the Union Address, President Bush’s comments on his domestic agenda and Iraq are of particular importance to young New Yorkers. Whether it was the call for the privatization of Social Security, increasing standards for high school students, the strengthening of our community colleges, or the United States’ commitment to Iraq, young New Yorkers should be particularly concerned with the Bush agenda for 2005.

In an attempt to sell his plan for privatizing the Social Security system, President Bush continued last night to try and reach out to young Americans by claiming the system will be bankrupt by the time they are slated to receive benefits. Using projections that have been disputed by various research institutes and the Congressional Budget Office, the president has resorted to misrepresenting the solvency of the Social Security system.

“We agree with the president that the collapse of Social Security is not a small problem,” said Evan Lederman, President of the New York State Young Democrats. “In fact, it has become a large problem, primarily because the President and his Congressional allies are intent on turning the system over to Wall Street. Enron and Worldcom have shown us the kind of results we can expect from such a move.”

Pushing further for expanded federal control over the education system, after referencing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the president called for federal standards for our nation’s high schools. NCLBmandated strict standards and tough testing requirements on our public schools, yet the president failed to adequately fund those mandates. Schools throughout the country have been required to implement new programs and administer rigorous testing, yet the president and the Congress have failed to provide the funding necessary to meet the goals of the Act.

At the same time, the president called for strengthening our community colleges. During the 2004 presidential campaign, President Bush often campaigned on community college campuses, in large part, because he realized the vital role they play in workforce development. The rhetoric has not matched his actions, however. In his commitment to increasing the size of Pell Grants (from $4,050 to $4,550 over the next five years) the president failed to mention the new federal formulas for eligibility that were put in place by the Department of Education that will make tens of thousands of students ineligible for the grants.

Absent from the president’s address was a plan for bringing our young men and women home from Iraq. Almost two years since the invasion of Iraq, President Bush and his foreign policy team have yet to put in place a plan for the eventual withdrawal of American soldiers.

“Our young men and women have served honorably and valiantly,” said Lederman. “It’s time we started discussing when we’ll be bringing them home.”