PROGRESSIVE ROCKLAND

Organizing for America Meeting in Pearl River

Organizing for America (formerly Obama for America) has officially landed in New York! OFA will be touring various neighborhoods throughout the state to re-engage and mobilize the grassroots movement in support of President Obama! Please join us, as we discuss how Rockland will organize around the issues of health care, education and clean energy to push forward the President's agenda. Inaction is not an option!

Time:     Tuesday, September 1 from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Host:     Moira Kelley
Location: Pearl River Library
80 Franklin Ave
Pearl River, NY 10965-2505
(845) 735-4084

Why are Aney Paul & Thomas Ninan Trying to Steal the Working Families Party Line?

Once again the Working Families Party is under attack  in Clarkstown.

John Maloney & George Hoehmann are the endorsed candidates of the Working Families Party, but their endorsements are being threatened by a pair of unscrupulous party raiders.

The Working Families Party has a rigorous endorsement process to ensure that candidates on our ballot line support our goals.  Candidates are asked to complete a thorough questionnaire to determine their position on our issues.  After completing the questionnaire, candidates are invited to an interview with a panel of Rockland County members.  Only after satisfactorily completing both steps are candidates recommended for endorsement. 

John Maloney honored our process, and was resoundingly endorsed.  He earned his endorsement not just for his stand on Working Families issues, but also because of his decades of service to his community, his church, and through his long career with Catholic Charities. 

George Hoehmann honored our process and was also resoundingly endorsed.  He too stands with us on our issues.  In his day job he is the CFO of Camp Venture, an organization that offers care and services to children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Their opponent, Aney Paul, has no comparable record of public service.

SNEAK ATTACK!

Ms Paul never reached out to the Working Families Party.  She never filled out a questionnaire, never came for an interview:  in short, she snubbed our legitimate process.

So you can imagine our surprise when the Board of elections notified us of Opportunity to Ballot petitions filed for Clarkstown Town Council, which forces a write in primary and jeopardizes John Maloney’s endorsement.

Make no mistake.  This is a blatant takeover attempt orchestrated by people who have no connection to the Working Families Party; who have no allegiance to the ideals and principles of the party.  Rather, they are rank opportunists seeking to further their own political careers and agendas.

The prime instigator in this hijack effort appears to be Thomas Ninan.  The petition committee members are overwhelmingly Ninan’s family members and friends. 

We believe that Ninan may have fraudulently enrolled 25 or so new registrants: some are recent high school graduates and others are folks who just became United States citizens, into the Working Families Party for the purpose of stealing the line away from John Maloney.  What a sordid introduction to politics for these new voters.

WHO IS THIS THOMAS NINAN?

Ninan is a peripatetic and perennial candidate. Several years back Ninan ran for East Ramapo School Board, and lost.  He tried to seize power at his CSEA local and failed.  He tried to hijack the Indian Cultural Association and was beaten back.  Two years ago Ninan decided to run for County Legislator so he carpet-bagged into Clarkstown to run against Gerold Bierker.  Once again he lost.

WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS?

So why is Ninan helping Aney Paul steal the Working Families line?  Some believe that since he can’t get elected on his own merits, he is using her to gain political power, that he would be the power behind the throne.  Others say he is using her to build his own political base for another run for county legislator.

Whatever their reasons, Aney Paul’s & Thomas Ninan’s meddling in the affairs of another political party are despicable and indefensible.

 

Whole Foods CEO Slams Workers' Rights, Health Care Reform

Whole Foods CEO Slams Workers' Rights, Health Care Reform

Whole Foods shoppers have long paid a premium for wholesome food they thought they were buying from a socially conscious retailer. Turns out it's been bait-and-switch all along.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey has publicly attacked the Employee Free Choice Act and real health care reform. Now consumers and unions are fighting back.

In the time since Mackey wrote an anti-reform op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, outraged shoppers have launched boycotts that are rapidly spreading through online social networks and blogs.

"While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter?" Mackey wrote. "This 'right' has never existed in America." A public option is "the last thing our country needs," he declared.

Mackey has been working behind the scenes to strip out majority sign-up and other key provisions from the Employee Free Choice Act, and likes to boast that his stores are "100 percent union-free."

But union members, consumers and activists are showing up in force outside Mackey's stores nationwide. This week UFCW members in St. Paul, Minn., demonstrated in front of a local Whole Foods as the start of a campaign to educate shoppers about Mackey's efforts to undermine health care reform and workers' rights.