My Dream: Real Estate Lobby Will Not Buy My City Council Rep.

If you read most American press, you will get the impression that our country is marching slowly but inevitably towards equality. The truth is the opposite. Regular citizens are increasingly getting shut out of the political process. Our voices are being drowned by unregulated corporate money.

Usually we think of this as a national problem, but the real estate industry has decided to target our City Council district. They have decided that it is financially wise to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars on a race that maybe 5,000 – 10,000 people will vote in. If you are one of the rare people who vote in City Council primaries, these real estate lobbyists will spend maybe $50 on your vote.

It may seem like the Civil Rights movement was some distant thing that happened decades ago. It is not distant. While it is incredibly important to fight for voting access in states that are trying to restrict in, the battle is right here in Central Brooklyn.

Back in the 1960s, the segregationists used fire hoses. Today, the weapons are more sophisticated. “Jobs for New York” is the insidious name of the group funded exclusively by big real estate interests, with the goal of drowning out your voice.

If you are registered to vote, YOU can help stop this. Don’t vote for candidates getting support from Jobs for New York. Vote for a candidate who is running a real grass-roots campaign. Vote for a candidate who is qualified for the job of City Council. Vote for the only candidate who has created more than 1,000 units of affordable housing.

Ede’s dad registered voters in Mississippi and Alabama, and now she’s fighting the same battle on a different front.

It’s not just enough to empathize with the Civil Rights movement. You have to go out and vote— nobody can do it for you.