New York City Public Advocate and candidate for Governor Jumaane Williams on April 7 joined his running mate for Lt. Governor Ana Maria Archila in front of the New York State Board of Elections announcing that their campaigns collected over 40,000 petition signatures from voters across the state to secure their placement on the Democratic primary ballot in June.
“Despite the Democratic machine trying to keep their incumbency protection politics in place to preserve the status quo, our campaigns were able to mobilize a statewide coalition of grassroots volunteers to secure our spot on the Democratic primary ballot,” Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, told the press conference.
“We did it without the billionaire donors who are dictating the governor’s budget and stocking her campaign war chest with millions of dollars in contributions, and we will continue our people-powered strategy through to victory on Jun. 28,” he added.
Archila said: “Jumaane and I are organizers by training, so we embraced this petition drive with our dedicated volunteers who helped us organize and mobilize across the state to meet New Yorkers, hear their issues and share our vision of a renewed New York.
“Thanks to countless hours of hard work, voters will have the choice to cast their ballots for people who prioritize the needs of working families in June’s primary,” she added.
Advocates from the Working Families Party, Citizen Action, the New York Progressive Action Network and other progressive organizations joined Williams and Archila to submit the petitions to the Board of Elections.
They spoke about the need for elected officials who push forcefully for change and serve the people of New York, “not a handful of wealthy donors.”
“We’re thrilled that Jumaane and Ana María have secured more than double the number of signatures needed to get on the ballot for the Democratic primary,” said Sochie Nnaemeka, director of the New York Working Families Party.
“With New Yorkers facing a growing affordability crisis and the Governor more concerned with giveaways for the ultra rich, working families can count on having candidates on the ballot who will fight for the issues they care most about, including affordable housing, universal child care, excellent public schools, and quality health care for all,” Nnaemeka added.
Fifteen thousand signatures from registered Democratic voters across New York are required for ballot access to compete in the Democratic primary in June.
