| Many people already know that Ruben Diaz Sr. is one of the worst State Senators in New York. Besides from his connections to a sleazy political machine, his bigotry and intolerance is notorious throughout the country. We all know that we need to replace Ruben Diaz Sr. with a forward-thinking, tolerant reformer who stands with his community and not with his cronies. But it's not enough to just support the other guy. As our host explained it plainly, Charlie Ramos is more than just a warm body. He is a grassroots community organizer with deep ties to the progressive community. To state is succinctly and in Charlie's own words, he is pro-marriage equality, pro-choice, and pro-change .
Charlie spoke eloquently about his background and his years growing up in the Bronx. He represents a common experience; intelligent youth getting steered into trouble because of the lack of societal support for people in the inner cities. Charlie was able to turn his life around and for the past several years has been involved in great progressive organizations. He notably worked for Walmart Watch, the Obama campaign, and Comptroller Bill Thompson as his Bronx outreach coordinator for the comptroller's office.
I was especially touched by Charlie's discussion of LGBT issues. He talked about how Hispanic and African-American gay couples are afraid to express themselves openly for fear of intolerance in their neighborhoods. He spoke about how tolerance from the top can breed acceptance throughout a community. He also understands that LGBT issues extend beyond marriage equality. Charlie told a story about how a homeless HIV positive man gave him his last 20 dollars as a contribution because he was running against Diaz Sr. and how Diaz Sr. had voted against a bill providing support to HIV positive individuals in the State.
Charlie also talked about the machine control of the Bronx and how so many state committee seats are left vacant in the Bronx so the machine can control appointments and political jobs. Charlie's already worked on changing this culture of corruption and his organization, Bronx for Change, created a de-centralized mobilization campaign to educate and involve local community members. This is a man that brings political education to the community and even said that he'd rather be challenged by an informed electorate.
We have a chance to send a message to Albany and throughout the country in Democratic circles that intolerance will not be acceptable. Furthermore, we have a chance to support a real community activist and bottom-up organizer in a winnable race. Reverend Ruben Diaz Sr. can be beat, and beating him will send the exact type of message we need to send throughout the country. I'm looking forward to helping volunteer with Charlie Ramos and getting him elected. Would you join me?
Learn More About Charlie Ramos Here!
Contribute to Charlie Ramos Here! |
