Not Too Late to Vote for Change in Bed-Stuy

Mark Winston Griffith in the 36th Council district debate on Sept.8th.

Sadly, I missed my chance to lose my voting virginity when the Bed-Stuy democratic primary election happened in September (?) I don't know, it's all a blur. All I know is I spent the day before cramming on the internet learning all I could about the various candidates. Then I went to bed, planning to vote in the morning before I left for work. But Little Joe was having a rough morning and I barely got to work on time. Then I planned on voting after work, but by the time I picked up Little Joe from his afterschool program and we got back to Bed-Stuy a little after 7pm, he and I were both wiped out and starving and I just couldn't drag him over to the voting place.

What's up with election day being Tuesday anyway? I know that Tuesday was originally chosen because it was an agrarian society, and farmers needed a full day to get to the voting booth via horse drawn carriage. Plus they didn't want it to interfere with the Sabbath or 'market Wednesday.' But come on, it's 2009. And most of us aren't Amish. Isn't it in the government's best interest to make it as easy for people to vote as possible? How about Saturday? Or else make election day a national holiday. I want to vote dammit.

So then when I discovered that Al Vann won by only 634 votes, I was bummed out. Obviously my one vote wouldn't have changed things. But a lot more people would have voted had it been on the weekend. 70% of Bed-Stuy didn't vote for Al Vann. I don't think he's the worst council member but I also don't think he's done much for Bed-Stuy. And we could use some fresh blood. Anyway. The leading person who was up against Al Vann is still in the running. Mark Winston Griffith is up for election on November 3rd via the Working Families Party. And I still have a chance to vote. Providing Little Joe and I can handle it with school and work and all.

And while I'm on the rant, what's up with Bloomberg spending a million dollars a day on his mayoral campaign???? Surely that money could be put to better use. So the richest guy is going to win. Does this sound even vaguely corrupt to anyone? Besides no one exciting or interesting is running against him.

From my inbox:

Hi! I'm a fan of your blog, and I'm helping to put together this event for the Mark Winston Griffith campaign- we still have a chance to get a fresh city council candidate! He's back on the ballot under the Working Families Party ticket. Please please post this if you can!

WHAT: meet Mark, have a FREE glass of wine, chat about food justice in our neighborhood

WHEN: Thursday, October 29th, 6-8 pm

WHERE: Le Toukelier Restaurant, 1116 Bedford Ave (Gates/Monroe)

WHY: the election is 1 week away and it is time for change in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights!

WHO: you, your friends, your neighbors - please pass on this email

please RSVP to Stepha as soon as you can at skrynytzky@gmail.com

"One of the great, often unspoken, forms of oppression that low- and moderate-income communities suffer through is the lack of access to healthy food. When I moved back to Central Brooklyn in 1985, I was struck by its barren nutritional landscape. It wasn’t just that options like fresh produce and organic foods were hard to come by. But the storefront food provision systems themselves -- “bullet-proof” fast food joints, poorly stocked and over-crowded supermarkets, cruddy, stomach-curdling bodegas –- seemed to represent a level of self-destruction and dietary corruption that went well beyond my inability to buy tofu on Nostrand Avenue." Mark Winston Griffith, 2003

The local numbers are frightening: 63% of the residents of Brooklyn are overweight or obese, and the averages in Bedford-Stuyvesant are even higher. With Fast food joints like McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell or KFC comprising 13% of the restaurants in our community, it's time to declare a public health emergency.

For more information, visit mwgriffith.com. If you live in Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights, vote line E on November 3rd for Mark for city council! See you next Thursday!