A friend of mine is running for Congress. His father, Congressman Major Owens, is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, has consistently been against the War in Iraq and voted against the Patriot Act. My friend, Chris Owens, is an even MORE progressive version of his father. Chris is being opposed in the primary by candidates far LESS progressive than his father...and if we want to encourage a more progressive Congress, this is a race we have to pay attention to.
The fourth quarter fundraising results are in and Chris Owens lags behind his opponants. I want to try and convince this community that Chris Owens is worthy of your attention and support. Please read on...you will LOVE this guy.
First let me get two things out of the way. This Congressional seat will NOT be taken by a Republican. This is solidly Democratic. The question is what KIND of Democrat. I will address this below.
The other thing is that yes, Chris is running for his father's seat. Many, myself included, didn't like the idea of a dynastic Congressional seat. That attitude on my part (and my wife's) lasted less than 5 minutes the first time I met Chris. Within that 5 minutes, I came to see Chris as EXACTLY the kind of Democrat I want to see in office. He shouldn't get his father's seat just because he is his father's son. But he also should not be rejected just because he is his father's son. He is, in addition, also the best candidate one could want.
Chris Owens is progressive pretty much across the board. You can see his stands on issues here. But here are excerpt in his own words:
Choice
I support and have always supported a woman's right to make choices regarding her own body. As a member of the NYS NARAL Pro-Choice PAC for seven years, I was involved with efforts to educate, empower and elect pro-choice candidates in New York State. I oppose efforts to erode this right through legislative trickery.
Democratic Party - National
The Democratic Party needs to make a strong statement to America on every issue from homeland security and defense to education and housing policy. Most importantly, the Party must inspire and invigorate its members - particularly in 2008, a Presidential election year when there will be no incumbent. Not only must we win higher percentages of our traditional base vote, we must also increase the total number of individuals actually voting Democratic -- as we have in the past two Presidential elections.
Election Reforms - Instant Run-Off Voting
Instant Run-Off Voting should be utilized in both intra-party and inter-party elections. Within the Democratic Party during primary elections, voters need to have the opportunity to more fully express their candidate and issue preferences in a manner that does not leave the Party fragmented. And, in General Elections, Democrats need to build coalitions with others. IRV allows progressives to provide more mutual support for their candidates while also allowing the major parties to define themselves in terms more meaninguful to the average voter.
Environment - Global Warming
The American government must support the Kyoto protocols and support strong action to end global warming.
This issue involves the reduction of air pollution and water pollution, as well as the development of appropriate energy policies. Pollutants have eroded the quality of health for Americans as well as others. Not only is global warming an environmental issue, it is a national security issue. We are demanding full cooperation on matters of homeland security from other nations of the world, yet we simultaneously alienate them by failing to address a concern that is incredibly important to them. We demand cooperation from other nations, yet we have not moved away from the highest levels of oil consumption. I support the development of alternative fuels and alternative means of transportation, such as "hybrids", as one step in the right direction.
Health Care - Universal Coverage
The only equitable and sustainable method of distributing quality health care to all Americans is to have a single-payer system providing universal coverage. This can be achieved through careful expansions of the Medicare and Medicaid models as well as additional innovations.
(It is ironic that the new Iraqi Constitution appears to provide a basic right to health care at the national level. Does this mean that universal health care is on the march?)
Homeland Security - Patriot Act
The alleged "Patriot Act" has become an attack on our civil rights and liberties. New and better federal legislation is needed. As someone whose family was directly impacted by the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 and February 26, 1993, I am very concerned about our security but I want our rights to be secure as well. Americans want and deserve protection from internal and external threats. Such protection is part of the basic social contract between government and the governed. Our social contract, however, includes democratic values as well -- particularly the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and governance by the governed. The balancing act between these desires has defined our nation's history. The Patriot Act has laid a foundation for incredible abuses by the government.
Impeachment of the President of the United States
We have now learned of the Bush Administration's flagrant, arrogant and admitted disregard for laws passed in the aftermath of Watergate -- laws designed to prevent abuses of Executive power while providing flexibility and support for domestic law enforcement activities. We must remain vigilant in opposing those who would eviscerate our Constitution, deliberately or naively, in the name of "freedom."
Accordingly, I have joined with those calling for the impeachment of President Bush. Only by pursuing the truth in the most aggressive manner possible will we ensure that checks and balances on tyranny actually work.
The Iraq War
Pressure must be continuously placed upon the Bush administration to bring our troops home now. The pressure has already allowed Americans to engage in a greater degree of patriotic dissent and has forced positive changes in the attitude and recommendations of policymakers regardless of political affiliation. Cindy Sheehan is a courageous person with a strong and clear voice and I support her inspirational efforts to bring the anti-war message home to President Bush and all of us.
Marriage Equality
Every American should have an equal right to marry the partner that she or he loves. There is no substitute for marriage equality.
The recent decision by the New York State Appellate Court promoting discrimination against gay and lesbian individuals and their rights reminds me of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1896 when it supported institutional racism through Plessy v. Ferguson.
And he stands by his positions. He has attended anti-war marches. I have been with him at rallies defending local neighborhoods from really corrupt developers. And here is a description I wroteof his stand on development issues.
Who is he up against? His main opponants are two candidates, Carl Andrews and Nick Perry, from the local Brooklyn Democratic Party machine. This machine, led until his recent convictions for election fraud by Clarence Norman, is well known both for its extreme corruption and for its failure to deliver good voter turnout in the general election. I have seen this machine in action when I became a member of the Brooklyn (Kings County) Democratic County Committee. Clarence Norman's faction literally SCRIPTED the entire event. His people got the script and read off it on cue. No one else could say anything. The machine is known for its opposition to progressives as was seen in the City Council race that drove one of Brooklyn's best progressives, Letitia James, out of the Democratic Party to win against the machine on the Working Families ticket. Similarly, the machine tried to not only defeat but ruin the career of progressive judge, Margharita Lopez-Torres, in a race where groups like Democracy for NYC were heavily involved.
Carl Andrews and Nick Perry, Clarence Norman allies through and through, would be better than any Republicans. But they are the epitome of corrupt hack politicians with no interest in the democratic process or reform.
Yvette Clarke is another candidate. She, as far as I know, is not as tainted by the machine as Perry and Andrews, but she and her mother (who held Yvette's city council seat before Yvette did) have ties with Pataki and the NY State Republicans. Yvette Clarke is no reformer and no progressive.
All of the candidates, including Chris Owens, mentioned so far have been black. The district is majority black and some feel that only blacks should run. I don't think this is the case. However, the final candidate in the race, David Yasskey, is making a conscious calculation that I don't like. He figures that the black candidates will split the vote while he will be able to pick up the white (and mostly wealthy) part of the district and win. I find this calculation a big turn off. But Yassky is my city councilman and I generally have liked him. But increasingly he has veered away from what seemed to be a progressive path and has, in essence, become something of a young, somewhat more diffident Chuck Schumer. This makes him, in my book, a perfectly respectable Democrat...but NOT a progressive.
Two party machine hack candidates, one Republican-leaning candidate, and one candidate trying to straddle the DLC/progressive line. And then there is Chris Owens, the only real progressive in the group.
To all those who have been railing against Democrats with no spine, you have a chance to help a real progressive against a field of Democrats who care more about their own careers and power than in the will of the people.
Can Chris Owens deliver? All I can say is that he is very active, a wonderfully eloquant and inspiring speaker, not afraid to take a controversial stand on principle, and he has been part of the progressive activist community for years. He was an early supporter of Howard Dean and his candidacy has been endorsed by a slew of progressives from around the nation, including former Presidential candidate and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Representatives John Lewis (Georgia), Maxine Waters (California), Bernie Sanders (Vermont), Maurice Hinchey (New York), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (Ohio) and more.
Chris' website claims thatr other upcoming endorsements will include activists and authors Paul Robeson, Jr. and Si Kahn, civil rights advocate Norman Siegel (former head of the NY Civil Liberties Union) and former U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch.
Chris is up against a tough pack of opponants. David Yassky, linked to the wealthy white part of the district (Brownstone Brooklyn) has outraised all of the other candidates. Carl Andrews, the primary machine candidate, is coming in second with the bulk of the machine pulling for him. The remaining three, Clarke, Perry (who seems to be rebelling a bit against the machine for once) and Chris are all lagging, having neither wealthy patrons nor a political machine behind them.
My friend, Chris Owens, needs your help. This race is as important for reforming the Democratic Party as any race in the nation. It may not change the Repub/Dem balance, but it will affect the progressive/regressive balance. Don't let this opportunity pass. Please contribute to Chris' campaign. If you live in NYC, please volunteer your time for Chris. For me, this race is very important. My heart is in this one, even as my brain is into the races that will affect the Repub/Dem balance. This race is personal for me and I am asking you to help.