NY: Don't forget to get out and vote on Tuesday
Published: November 1, 2010
Tuesday, November 2 is
Election Day, and there are many medical marijuana supporters running for
important positions that need your vote, and your help too. Make sure you get out to the polls on
Tuesday and vote for legislators who will demonstrate compassion for seriously
ill patients while in office. Polls
close throughout the state at 9:00 p.m. You can check your polling site here.
If you can make some time today and/or tomorrow, the medical marijuana supporters listed below could probably use your
help with calls and door-to-door volunteering as they try to win close races
against opponents of compassion and progress. See each campaign website for
details on volunteering. While we still are working hard to try to pass medical
marijuana legislation in a post-election November vote, the more supporters we
have seated for next year’s session the better.
We sent a questionnaire to all candidates
and incumbents in close races and open seats, asking if they supported
legislation that allowed patients with severe, debilitating conditions to
possess a limited amount of marijuana for medical use with a doctor’s recommendation.
Several candidates answered the questionnaire and returned it to us, or gave us
oral confirmation of their position. The completed 2010 questionnaires can be
found here.
New
York State Senate
*7th
District (Western Nassau County, Long Island) — Democrat Craig Johnson declared his
support on his questionnaire while his Republican opponent, Jack Martins, did
not respond. Since Sen. Johnson is a freshman incumbent in a tight district,
this race could be close.
*8th
District (Eastern Nassau County, Long Island) — Democrat Carol Gordon declared
her conditional support on her questionnaire while
the Republican incumbent, Sen. Charles Fuschillo, Jr., did not respond, and has
not indicated any support in the many years that medical marijuana legislation
has been pending in New York. Gordon wrote, “I am in support of medical
marijuana; however I do not feel the proposed legislation should be the
vehicle.” This is problematic, as our current legislation is very well crafted
and thoroughly vetted. Nonetheless, her position is superior to that of Sen.
Fuschillo.
*11th
District (Eastern Queens) — Democratic New York City Councilman Tony
Avella was the first to return his supportive
questionnaire while the Republican incumbent, Sen. Frank Padavan did not
respond, and has not been supportive in the past. This race is likely to be
close.
*22nd
District (South Brooklyn) — Democratic challenger Mike
DiSanto declared his support on his questionnaire while
the Republican incumbent, Sen. Martin Golden, did not respond, and has been one
of the most vocal opponents of medical marijuana legislation.
*58th
District (Buffalo suburbs) — In this open seat election, Democrat Tim
Kennedy's campaign responded by telephone and confirmed his support for medical
marijuana legislation, while Republican Assemblyman Jack Quinn did not respond
and voted against us
in 2008. This seat was formerly held by a Democrat, and also looks to be a
close race.
*61st
District (Northwestern New York) — Democratic former state senator Marc Coppola declared his
support on his questionnaire
while the Republican incumbent, Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer did not respond, and
has not been supportive in the past. This race is likely to be close as
Ranzenhofer barely won re-election in 2008.
In addition, MPP did not send questionnaires in the following
districts, but all of the following incumbents have either sponsored or voted
for medical marijuana legislation in 2010:
*Tom Duane (D-29th district), medical marijuana sponsor;
*Eric Adams (D-20th district), a leading advocate;
*Neil Breslin (D-46th district), Martin Malave-Dilan (D-17th district), Ruth Hassell-Thompson
(D-36th
district), Liz Krueger (D-26th district), Velmanette Montgomery (D-18th district), Kevin Parker (D-21st district), Bill Perkins (D-30th district), Diane Savino (D-23rd district), Eric Schneiderman
(D-31st
district, who is now running for New York Attorney General), Daniel Squadron
(D-25th
district), and Antoine Thompson (D-60th district), co-sponsors;
*Shirley Huntley (D-31st district), Jeffrey Klein (D-34th district), Carl Kruger (D-27th district), John Sampson (D-19th district), Andrea Stewart-Cousins
(D-35th
district), and David Valesky (D-49th district), who voted yes in the Health or Codes Committees.
New
York Assembly
The New York State Assembly has twice
passed medical marijuana legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Richard
Gottfried (D-Manhattan). Although we did not send out questionnaires to
Assembly candidates, you can find out how your Assembly member voted if he or she was in office in
2008 here.
Governor
*Libertarian candidate Warren
Redlich returned MPP’s medical
marijuana questionnaire and stated his support for full legalization of
marijuana.
*Democratic candidate Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, blindsided New
Yorkers recently when he publicly came out against medical marijuana
legislation. Cuomo,
said “the dangers on medical marijuana outweigh
the benefits,” and compared legalizing proven medicine
to legalizing prostitution.
*Republican
and Tea Party candidate Carl Paladino, has not taken a real stand on the issue,
saying that he wanted it to be put to a referendum.
This is a dodge, given that he should know that New York does not have a
referendum law, and so a people’s vote on medical marijuana legislation is
impossible.
*Finally, Anti-Prohibition Party candidate Kristin Davis has
made marijuana legalization a hallmark of her campaign, and specifically
criticized Cuomo’s miscue saying, “approving marijuana
use by prescription could bring the state millions in tax revenues while safely
bringing relief to suffering patients.”
We at MPP encourage you to find a
legislator or candidate in your area that is supportive of passing medical
marijuana legislation. As always, thanks for all you do, and don’t forget to
get your friends and family to vote and volunteer for compassionate candidates!
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