News: July 2008 Archives

Success of Fund-Raising Efforts Shows Growing Support

Assembly candidate Luke Henry today announces that he has raised $72,590.00 so far in his campaign to unseat Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

"I am exceedingly pleased with our campaign's fund-raising efforts so far," said Luke Henry. "I want to thank our staff and volunteers for working tirelessly to get our message out to the voters in Lower Manhattan. The success of our grassroots effort demonstrates a true appetite for change in the district. We believe our strong showing of contributions is only the beginning of the growing groundswell that will ultimately unseat the Speaker."

The vast majority of donors to Henry's campaign made small contributions of $200 or less. "While Speaker Silver has massed significantly more funds, most of his contributions came from special interests and PACs. We believe that the voters who want change will not let the war chest of an incumbent so heavily entrenched in Albany stand in the way," said Henry. "Our campaign has been--and will continue to be--successful in raising the money we need," he added.

Silver's other challenger, Paul Newell, raised approximately $20,000 less than Henry during the latest filing period and almost $5,000 less overall despite beginning his fundraising earlier than Henry.

On Sunday, July 13, Luke Henry joined volunteers from the progressive group Democracy for New York City, which endorsed him last month, at an event at the South Street Seaport. The goal of the event was to inform people about Senator Obama, sign people up to support his campaign, and register more New York voters. Luke Henry is proud to support Senator Obama, as Luke believes that change is needed on the national level as well as in our communities.

On July 9th, 2008 Luke Henry was invited to speak with Roberto Perez, from the LaGuardia Community College webradio station, which is based in Long Island City. The conversation is available online and runs roughly thirty minutes.

Calls on Speaker Sheldon Silver to Make a Case for Re-Election

New York, New York (July 15, 2008)--Assembly candidate Luke Henry today calls upon his opponents to join him in three debates between now and election day on the issues facing Lower Manhattan.

"For 22 years, Sheldon Silver has been able to coast to re-election without a primary challenge," said Luke Henry. "This year, his constituents have the opportunity to hold him accountable and force him to make a case for his re-election. Over his lengthy tenure, Silver has presided over the erosion of affordable housing in his district, blocked efforts to address the public health crisis created by traffic congestion, and failed to secure essential reform in order to combat legislative dysfunction in Albany. I challenge him to defend his record in open debate."

Speaker Silver elected not to attend a May 18 forum hosted by the progressive organization Democracy for New York City. Henry had written to the incumbent in April encouraging him to attend that forum. "Downtown New Yorkers have a right to know where the candidates stand on the issues most important to them. I sincerely hope that Speaker Silver will accept my invitation to debate in order to give the voters all the information they need to decide who will best represent them in Albany," Henry said today. The May DFNYC debate did give the public an opportunity to compare Luke Henry's message with that of Paul Newell, who is also challenging Sheldon Silver. After evaluating the two challengers, DFNYC endorsed Luke Henry by a two-to-one margin.

Henry filed over 3,000 petition signatures last week--over six times the required number of 500--and his campaign is confident it can easily withstand any challenges and will appear on the primary ballot on Sept. 9.

Luke Henry spoke at the endorsement meeting of the Stonewall Democratic Club, questioning Sheldon Silver's commitment to same -sex marriage.

The speech was mentioned in the Politicker and is available online below.

Campaign confident the candidate will appear on ballot to challenge Silver

New York, New York (July 11, 2008)-- Luke Henry announced today that his campaign has submitted 3016 petition signatures to the New York City Board of Elections, substantially more than the 500 signatures required to appear on the ballot. This robust display of community support is a critically important first step in the effort to unseat Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

"I am pleased to say that I now have the signatures necessary to appear on the ballot and give the voters of the 64th Assembly district a real choice on Sept. 9," said Henry. "Our strong grassroots petition-gathering effort demonstrates that voters in the district are excited to have a choice of Democrats to send to Albany for the first time in 22 years. The level of dedication displayed by volunteers and supporters during this process is exactly what will be required to successfully guide the campaign through the next phase of the race," he added.

Despite the large number of signatures collected, because of New York's outdated and needlessly onerous petition requirements, it will be some time before Henry is officially placed on the ballot. The campaign is confident that the sheer numbers of signatures collected--well over six times the 500 signatures required--will allow it to prevail if challenged.

The campaign worked with petitioning expert Alan Zimmerman, who specializes in helping candidates overcome New York's outdated petition requirements and gain access to the ballot. Zimmerman has brought over 35 years of New York political experience to the Henry team. He worked in close coordination with a grassroots network of volunteers. No campaign for which Zimmerman has directed the petitioning operation has ever failed to get onto the ballot.

Feel free to visit our YouTube page at LukeHenryCampaign

Here is one of the videos featured there

Join DFNYC and Luke Henry's campaign to help Obama win the White House!

New York is not a "swing state," but we can still help Senator Barack Obama win the election from right here in the city. Tourists visit New York every day, and many of them are swing state voters! One of the biggest tourist attractions is the South Street Seaport in downtown Manhattan. So we will spread out to pass out Obama flyers and voter reg info and sign people up to support Obama. The goal is to persuade the undecided and involve Obama supporters who may not be connected with his campaign.

When: Sunday, July 13th, 2-5pm

Where: South Street Seaport, Manhattan. Meet at the benches in front of Brookstone and the Body Shop. 18 Fulton Street.

Subway: Take the A/C, 2/3, J/M/Z, or 4/5 train to Broadway/Nassau, then walk east on Fulton.

Contact: RSVP to DFNYCer Merle, merle.mceldowney-at-gmail.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (replace -at- with @).

www.dfnyc.org

Here are some recent articles about Luke:

Running Against Albany on Manhattan's Lower East Side

The Politics of Change in Lower Manhattan

Is The Force With Him?

Luke receives an endorsement from Chico: