To the Editor:
It was recently brought to our attention that Jim Fouratt mislead your readers with a false claim that the Working Families Party (WFP) is not supporting Assemblywoman Deborah Glick for re-election. Glick is a longtime WFP champion and we are working hard to make sure she is reelected. We respectfully ask that you publish a clarification in light of the false claim in Fouratt’s August column.
The reason there is a WFP placeholder on the ballot has nothing to do with our strong support for Assemblywoman Glick; it is merely a precaution related to the Governor’s race. The WFP has put everything on the line for Cynthia Nixon because we believe in her—and from the start, we thought she could win. The WFP placeholder in Assembly District 66 is merely a precaution that we take in almost every contested primary. The WFP created a placeholder due to a technicality created by New York’s byzantine election law, which would allow our Gubernatorial candidate to leave the ballot if she chose to do so.
Once again, the WFP fully supports Assemblywoman Glick for re-election and is campaigning hard for her. Please let us know when this clarification will be published.
— Bill Lipton, Executive Director, NY-WFP
Jim Fouratt responds:
WFP’s Bill Lipton writes a rejection of the idea of Cynthia Nixon as a candidate for the State Assembly seat held by Deborah Glick. I assume that is his personal opinion. When I wrote that if Nixon should fail in her attempt to be the Democratic candidate for Governor that she should be a candidate for State Assembly, there was a rumor circulating that since the WFP convention could not endorse a candidate in the Assembly race (Glick had no opposition in the September 13th primary and would not be on the ballot), a challenge was still possible on the WFP line.
Even Ms. Glick expressed “surprise” in response to press queries about Nixon challenging her on the WFP line. I did try to get a confirmation from the WFP, but was told that nothing was set until after the primary. I did not knowingly mislead my readers. I apologize if I was mistaken.
My column is political opinion commentary, not a news column. I did write, “We will continue to cover after the September Primary.” In politics, things change all the time. My criticism of Assemblywoman Glick remains. Her role as chief enforcer of the rule of the corrupt and convicted Speaker Sheldon Silver is a matter of record. The Daily News wrote, “Glick was lucky she also did not go to jail.” Glick’s dismal legislative record for issues that affect her constituents, other than women’s health, made me welcome this possibility.
In “Have You Heard” I did endorse Ms. Nixon’s candidacy. I hoped Nixon would win and the issue would be moot. As she didn’t win, I suggest strongly that the WFP consider, if Nixon is willing, to put an active, progressive female voice in Albany, rather than support an elected official who did little to change the corrupt State Assembly or stand up to bully Cuomo. I also suggest that Monica Klein, of Seneca Strategies (a feminist, political PR and marketing consultancy), look a little more closely at Ms. Glick’s actual record. Glick is no Bella Abzug!
— Jim Fouratt
