Grassroots Initiative Launches New Website for NYC Public Advocate

As part of our committment to connecting government and communities, Grassroots Initiative developed a new website (advocate.nyc.gov) for the NYC Public Advocate's Office. The Public Advocate is the second highest elected office in NYC and serves as a link between city residents and their local government. For more information, click here.
Grassroots Effort Underway to Recruit & Assist Candidates for Brooklyn Council Seat

Within hours of news declaring Brooklyn Council member Simcha Felder’s resignation, Grassroots Initiative made its own announcement – launching a series of trainings to educate prospective candidates about the upcoming Special Election in the 44th Council District. The trainings are designed to help increase participation in the elections, which are notorious for low voter turnout and can carry a hefty cost to taxpayers.

For more information, click here.
Grassroots Initiative Founder Testifies Before State Senate Committee of Elections

In his testimony before the New York State Senate's Committee of Elections, Grassroots Founder and President Jeff Merritt called for changes to New York's ballot access laws. In addition to lowering technical barriers to entry, Mr. Merritt asked that the Committee take steps to amend the New York State Election law to require that county Boards of Elections take steps to educate and assist the public-at-large on the process of running for elected office in New York.

To read the full text of Mr. Merritt's testimony, click here.
Grassroots Initiative Partners with NYC Department of Education on the First Online Public Election in the U.S.

This Spring, New Yorkers will make history by holding the first 100% online public election in U.S. history. More than 850,000 households will be eligible to vote in the elections for Community and Citywide Education Councils (CECs). Grassroots Initiative is proud to be managing all community outreach and candidate/voter assistance for these important elections. To learn more about these positions and this important effort, visit www.powertotheparents.org.
New Community Efforts Emerge in the Bronx & Queens to Recruit First-Time Candidates for Upcoming Elections

Spurred by heightened political interest in the 2008 Presidential Election, new community initiatives have taken root in the Bronx and Queens to help recruit community leaders to fill more than 2,000 vacant seats in the boroughs’ Democratic County Committees. Similar efforts were announced in Brooklyn earlier this year; together, these efforts hope to help more than 100 community residents break into politics for the first time.
For more information, click here.
Special Election for City Council District 30 Announced

Mayor Bloomberg has called for a Special Election for City Council District 30 in Queens to occur on June 3, 2008.
Candidates have just 12 dates to gather signatures to get their names on the ballot. For more information, click here.
The Daphne Foundation invests in Grassroots Initiaitive

The Daphne Foundation announced it is awarding a grant to the organization, investing in the Election Assistance Unit as Grassroots Initiative looks to revolutionize candidate recruitment in the United States.

"The Daphne Foundation is thrilled to be able to support this important initiative," said Abigail Disney, President and co-founder of the Daphne Foundation. "There is no better place to look for answers to our toughest political problems than to the men and women who work hard every day to make this country tick. We will never see substantive and systemic change in America until it fulfills its democratic promise, and Grassroots Initiative is one big, creative step in the right direction."

For more information, click here.
Grassroots Initiative Partner wins Oscar

We congratulate Vanessa Roth, who along with Cynthia Wade, took home Oscar gold for best short documentary with her film “Freeheld.”

Vanessa teamed up with Grassroots Initiative in the summer of 2007 for the Stone Street Film Series, featuring her previous work “The Third Monday in October.”
Candidates Assisted by Grassroots Initiative Sweep Elections

Grassroots Initiative continued its flawless record in 2007 as every single one of the candidates that we assisted was elected during the primary elections in September. What’s more, voter turnout in these districts was three-times higher than average.

On October 24th, we held our annual Leaders Forum for Newly Elected Officials, which included Republican and Democratic political leaders from the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan.
New Campaign Launched to Encourage HIV+ Candidates for Elected Offices

In June, Grassroots Initiative announced the start of a new campaign to encourage candidates for elected offices among people living with HIV in New York. There are more than 100,000 New Yorkers living with HIV; thousands are not aware of their HIV-positive status.

New print public service announcements (PSAs) were unveiled and will be distributed to community centers and HIV support groups around the city. As the candidates hit the campaign trail this election season, Grassroots Initiative will also be documenting the story in photos as the next phase of its Fighting Prejudice with Votes series.

For more information, click here.
First Haitian-Born Council Member Elected in New York

On April 24th, voters in Brooklyn's 40th City Council District (Flatbush/Crown Heights) elected the city's first Haitian-born City Council Member. The Special Election marked the first large-scale effort by Grassroots Initiative to boost competition and level the playing field through public awareness efforts, how-to guides, and low-cost election and campaign resources.
Over 10,000 People See "Fighting Prejudice with Votes" Exhibit About New York's First Elected Sikhs

In March 2007, Grassroots Initiative opened the doors for a month-long showing of "Fighting Prejudice with Votes: Sikhs in New York" at the Queens Museum of Art. The bold, new photography exhibit documents Grassroots Initiative's work to elect the first-ever Sikh officials in New York.

Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Guilllermo Linares, the first Dominican elected to office in the U.S., and John Liu, the first Asian American to be elected to the NY City Council, commemorated the occasion with a plaque from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

For more information, click here.
Brooklyn Special Election Sets Record for Number of Candidates on the Ballot

In January 2007, Grassroots Initiative unveiled a new set of election assistance tools to help lower the cost of running for elected office and walk first-time candidates through the process of petitioning and getting on the ballot.

In the first election of 2007, a record 13 candidates filed independent nominating petitions including immigrants from Haiti, Jamaica, Pa-nama, and other countries.
Two-thirds of Elections For New York City Public Offices Were Uncontested in 2006

Analysis of the 2006 elections highlights the need for more candidates and increased ballot access. A new situtation report by Grassroots Initiative is scheduled for release in 2007.