This November Let’s Vote on the Working Families Party Line

Elections aren’t just about candidates–they’re also about conveying the values and priorities that are most important to us. As we continue to fight for affordable housing, healthcare access for all, worker’s protections, and funding for our public schools, the elections on November 8th provide a prime opportunity to stand up for the needs of our communities at the ballot box. I’m planning to vote on the Working Families Party line to support candidates who have a deep commitment to delivering a more just and equitable state for all.

For the last two decades, the Working Families Party (WFP) has played a pivotal role in electing candidates who represent us and prioritize New Yorkers’ needs–leaders who have stood up to deliver historic improvements to the rent laws, delivered billions of dollars for our public schools by raising taxes on billionaires, passed the Dream Act and restored access to driver’s licenses, and more. The WFP knows that, while we must elect Democrats to defeat MAGA extremists, we must also urge those Democrats to be more forceful in pushing the government to prioritize the needs of working families over the wants of billionaires. In New York’s fusion voting system, we can vote for Democrats on the WFP line, helping them win and sending precisely that message.

This approach has already paid off for New Yorkers. Take the issue of affordable housing: In 2018, the WFP helped elect a slate of progressive champions who put the needs of working families first, and worked with Democrats to finally end Republican control of the State Senate. Then, in 2019, WFP-backed legislators worked with partner organizations to fight for and win a historic victory to strengthen protections for rent-regulated tenants. 

Now, in this upcoming legislative session, Albany legislators have the opportunity to go further to protect over five million non-rent-regulated tenants by passing the Good Cause Eviction bill. This vital legislation would limit rent increases and safeguard these tenants from unjust evictions. As we head to the polls in this year’s upcoming elections, we must send a message to New York’s leaders that we need them to commit to fighting for good cause eviction protections, raising the minimum wage and making sure all workers are eligible for unemployment benefits, passing Coverage for All legislation to make health insurance and care available to all. We can send that message by voting for Kathy Hochul for Governor on the WFP line. 

Across the country, we have MAGA Republicans like Lee Zeldin openly plotting to undermine our democracy and putting our lives at risk. States have outlawed abortion effectively ending pregnant people’s right to autonomy and choice over their bodies. We are seeing attacks against transgender children and students and the LGBTQ+ community. Extremist Republicans like Zeldin want to bring those regressive changes to New York–reversing the progress we’ve made and taking our rights away. We cannot let them win. 

But it’s not enough to just say who we’re voting against. As we vote against Zeldin and his fellow anti-choice election deniers, we can stand up to vote for the progressive values that make New York special–that everyone deserves access to a job with a living wage, an affordable place to live, and access to health care. We can deliver that message by voting on the WFP line.

Theo Oshiro is the Co-Executive Director of Make the Road Action