"Obamawitz"

one more day until the primary ... paul was interviewed on NPR's the brian lehrer show this morning. he handled the tough questions brilliantly ... listen here and rally for paul! go paul!


Nonviolence is an orphan among democratic ideas. It has nearly vanished from public discourse even though the most basic element of free government -the vote-has no other meaning. Every ballot is a piece of nonviolence, signifying hard won consent to raise politics above firepower and bloody conquest. -Taylor Branch-

Assembly Candidate Paul Newell is beginning to make waves in his longshot bid (an understatement) to unseat none other than the most powerful person in New York, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver of the infamous three men in a room. Now with Spitzer gone, he may be the most powerful of the three men. But, Newell is not deterred and the blogosphere as well as the progressive community in New York City is beginning to take notice.

An event is scheduled this Tuesday night - June 24th, 7 - 10 PM, a fundraiser that sends a message with every contribution.

You can donate $77 for how many days until Newell unseats Silver; or

$149 for the amount of Assemblyman that will get a voice other than Silver; or

$500 (which gets you on the finance committee by the way) which is the amount of signatures Paul needs to get on the ballot.

He even has the attention of Ben Smith of Politico with the creative 'Obamawitz' image. This whole scenario makes me proud because once progressives (nationally for Obama and Edwards for that matter) realize they have power we can do just about anything.

There are some downsides to taking on the powerful, however. Paul told me when he began this quest that it wouldn't be easy and he would probably face another challenger funded by Silver. In pops Luke Henry. As Newell's candidacy began to pick up steam Henry announced. Suddenly, he moved back to the 64th from the West Village to challenge Silver, suspiciously in September. Doubly suspicious to Newell was that Henry has also worked for Wilson Elser (the lobbyist giant where Kenneth Shapiro works), which reps several firms with ties to Silver and the Assembly, such as the Dolans (Henry says he didn’t do political work there). Newell is concerned that Henry might be a sort of spoiler, an unserious candidate designed to split the non-Silver vote.

Paul, on the other hand, has lived in Chinatown for ten years, he is an Obama delegate and has been working for non-profits, including Ubuntu, an organization dedicated to the AIDS crisis in South Africa. Newell also speaks fluent Spanish, an important caveat in his constituency in the 64th. It is time the progressive blogosphere got behind a progressive candidate in New York City. NYC should be run by progressives, not old school democrats who we cannot tell from moderate Republicans, who we would rather have a conversation with - say Bloomberg than Sheldon Silver. It is ridiculous. Come to the fundraiser.

My favorite endorsement that Paul has received, however is the following from the Cougars of America: We the Cougars of America would like to endorse Paul Newell for New York State Assembly. We think he's just what we need in our government, a good lookin' young, single, and bold (bald) progressive. Not only is he the Bialystock of the Bowery, Paul has the right kind of touch (caress) and nearsighted vision that will bring a wave of fresh idea to Albany. It is time for change.

Meet Paul Newell: Power Concedes Nothing Without Demand

Have you heard of this man? Hopefully, you will. SG readers might know him through his witty comments, support of Barack Obama and his desire for unity of the Democratic party come November. But, he has big plans this fall. That is to unseat one of the most powerful men in Albany, Sheldon Silver, the Speaker of the House and one of "three men in a room."

Sheldon Silver is the Speaker of the House in Albany since 1994 and a thirty-two year incumbent whose district comprises much of lower Manhattan, notably the former World Trade Center site. He is one of the reasons New Yorkers complain that 'nothing' gets done in Albany. When a government runs this way progress is nearly impossible, it supports the establishment and the democratic caucus, not what the people want. New Jersey also runs this way through party bosses. Progressives have a nearly impossible time running in these state districts controlled by the few. Paul Newell wants to change that.

When Paul and I met he said to me, "listen yeah, Sheldon Silver is the Speaker and one of 'three men in a room,' but this guy is also an elected official who represents lower Manhattan." He has failed miserably in that role and it is Paul's quest to unseat him. See Paul here on youtube explaining why he wants to run for the Assembly. The Albany Project put it this way: We're literally talking about 6,000 votes or so affecting not only the lives of 19 million New Yorkers, but the very cause of reforming our state government as well.

I have known Paul for several years and know him to be a truly progressive, very bright, reform oriented democrat. He has fought for over a decade for progressive values. Whether working to elect progressive leaders, or bring needed services to children orphaned by AIDS, Paul has always believed in working together to achieve real change. He wants to make change for the better, for the people of lower Manhattan, health care for all, affordable housing and quality schools - for real, not as a campaign slogan. He knows this is a "Herculean task" ahead of him, but something worth the battle ahead. Go to his website and see what this campaign is about and of course donate. That is how we win until we have publicly financed elections.

This is what politics is about, not about backroom deals, but about people and democracy. Paul's task ahead is certainly a David versus Goliath endeavor, but it is not impossible, in fact it is likely once we set our sights on something worthy of our goals. It reminds me of the beautiful quote by Frederick Douglas:

"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation…want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters…. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."