TNA in NY Daily News: The Daily Politics
April 12, 2009
by The New Agenda
|Yesterday, The New Agenda was the subject of an article in the NY Daily News titled Domestic Violence and the DA’s Race. Thanks to the reporter for mentioning our VAW Forum, reminding us that Crocker-Snyder would be Manhattan’s FIRST female DA (NY State is 23rd in the country in terms of women in politics), and reminding NY residents about State Senator Hiram Monserrate.
Our only complaint is this: the reporter should have explained how common it is for women to recant their statements after being intimidated. This factor is magnified when the alleged abuser is an elected leader. The judge in this case has continued to uphold the restraining order after viewing the videotape despite the changes in the victim’s statement.
Domestic Violence And The DA’s Race
Manhattan DA hopeful Leslie Crocker-Snyder will participate next weekend in a “Violence Against Women” forum hosted by The New Agenda.
Crocker-Snyder, the lone woman in the field of three announced candidates vying for retiring DA Robert Morgenthau’s seat, would be the first woman to hold the borough’s top prosecutorial post.
A fourth candidate, Mayor Bloomberg’s criminal justice coordinator John Feinblatt, is also reportedly considering the race. He would be Manhattan’s first openly-gay DA.
At the forum, Crocker-Snyder is scheduled to discuss reform in sex crimes and domestic violence.
Domestic violence was one of the issues that came up during the 2005 race when Crocker-Snyder unsuccessfully challenged Morgenthau in a Democratic primary. It’s also a topic that plays well with women voters, who account for the majority of registered Democrats in Manahttan.
Also participating in the event are: Manhattan Deputy Borough President Rosemonde Pierre-Lewis (“Violence Against Women and the Media”); Karen Cheeks-Lomax, executive director of My Sister’s Place in Westchester (“The Next Generation”); and Irene Weiser, executive director of StopFamilyViolence.org (“The Family Court Crisis”).
The New Agenda is an outspoken, nonpartisan group that was formed in August 2008 by a group of Westchester County activists, many of whom had met on Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful presidential bid.
Most recently, the organization has been up in arms regarding the arrest and subsequent indictment of Sen. Hiram Monserrate on charges that he attacked his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, with a broken glass.
Despite the fact that Monserrate and Giraldo have insisted the incident was an accident, The New Agenda has repeatedly called for his resignation.
Gretchen Carlson
Claudia Poccia
Jacki Zehner
Wonderful Press for the Forum and TNA. I’m suggesting an ambitious action plan below. If each of us could do a little, it may count for a lot.
ACTION PLAN:
1. How about creating a petition to recall Monseratte and having it available for people to sign at the Forum? There will certainly be lots of people attending who would sign a recall petition to get Monserrate out of office!
2. Send an email invitation/announcement to the Forum to the following:
• Valerie Jarrett, head of the White House Commission on Women and Girls: Here’s the email she used when she was heading Obama’s Transition Team: vjarrett@barackobama.com Ask her to send the invitation to her entire Commission
• Send your comments inviting Jarrett and her Commission to the Forum and ask them to make violence against women an immediate priority that we want to see tangible action on: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ (500 character limit)
3. Send invitations to the Forum to the supporters who “get it.”, and please thank them as well:
a) NY Senator Martin Golden. Also thank him for speaking out against keeping Monserrate in office. Email: golden@senate.state.ny.us His quick online Contact Form: http://www.senatorgolden.com/22/Contact.aspx
b) Assistant District Attorney Scott E. Kessler, bureau chief of the Queens D.A.’s Domestic Violence Bureau and Johnnette G. Traill, deputy bureau chief of the Appeals Bureau, presented the Monserrate case to the grand jury. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown pressed charges against Monserrate.
• Emails: DA Scott Kessler: Sekessler@queensda.org
• Contact DAs Johnnette Traill and Richard Brown via: KRRyan@queensda.org
c) Maria, the 22 year old woman was violently assaulted in a New York City subway station while city employees who witnessed the incident, which went on for over twenty minutes, did nothing to intervene. It would be empowering for her to attend. Does anyone know how to reach her? Here is her story: http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....ter_s.html
4. Send an email invitation to the Forum to those who clearly need education on the topic of violence against women:
a) NY State Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson, chairwoman of the NY Senate Task Force on Domestic Violence, who would not comment on Mr. Monserrate’s treatment, and denied being aware of the backlash from women’s rights groups. Her email: hassellt@senate.state.ny.us
b) NY State Senator Malcolm A. Smith who held a fundraiser to help defay Monserrate’s legal costs. . . You can email Smith here: masmith@senate.state.ny.us His online contact form is here (scroll down): http://www.nyssenate14.com/14/Contact.aspx
c) Queens Supreme Court Justice Kevin Kerrigan (Phone: (718) 298-0013) who threw out the suit of Maria, young woman brutally raped in a Queens subway station. Her suit was against two transit workers (toll booth clerk John Koort, and train conductor Harmodio Cruz) who ignored her cries for help for over 20 minutes.
d) H. Dale Hemmerdinger Chairman, MTA and Elliot G. Sander, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, MTA. Both of these guys could learn a lot about violence against women. A quote from Scott Rose in another thread: http://thenewagenda.net/2009/0.....-genovese/
Here is a comment form (unable to locate the emails of those 2 men): http://mta-nyc.custhelp.com/cg.....er/ask.php
e) Here are the emails of all of the NY State Senators,: http://www.senate.state.ny.us/.....e?openform
If we all send the ‘invitations’/announcements, we could increase the visibility of the Violence Against Women Forum, ‘thank’ those who are supporters, keep the issue in the media, and let those who are clueless know we aren’t going away.
Leave your Response Want an avatar? Get a gravatar!