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Media Contact:                                          For Immediate Release:

Jessica Kennington, 212.379.1274 x214                 December 16, 2005

Email: press@gograssroots.org

Grassroots Initiative Calls for Action to Fill Neighborhood-Level Political
Offices

New York, NY - In the aftermath of Michael Bloomberg's decisive mayoral victory last month, neither New York City's Republican or Democratic Parties are sitting pretty. According to election results, over 14,000 local political party committee seats are empty due to a severe shortage of candidates. As a result, over 1 million New York City residents are left without local political representation.

"Democracy Takes a Nap: Party Politics in New York's Five Boroughs," an updated report released today by Grassroots Initiative, takes an in-depth look at the crisis of local political party representation permeating each of New York's five boroughs. According to the report, over half of local political party seats remain vacant; yet, New York's Republican and Democratic Parties show no signs of challenging politics as usual. In fact, the number of vacancies has increased in recent months.

"It's no surprise that the Republican and Democratic Party are not connecting with everyday New Yorkers. They simply aren't present," said Grassroots Initiative President and report author Jeff S. Merritt.

"When local political offices are empty, it's the communities and people who suffer - not the political parties. The party bosses aren't losing sleep because Remsen Village and East Flatbush don't have representatives. It's New Yorkers who miss out on the opportunity for real, representative leadership," said Merritt.

Key findings include:

• In New York City, over half of all local political party committee seats are vacant, totaling over 14,000 open seats in the Republican and Democratic county committees.
• 98% of all elected committee persons run uncontested; they need only file their paperwork to get elected.
• Over 5,500 election districts - and over 1 million citizens - in New York City are without any local party representatives.
• Both Republicans and Democrats neglect specific communities, including the central region of the Bronx, eastern Queens, and central Staten Island, among others
• A majority of New Yorkers do not feel that their party represents them and roughly one-third show interest in running for office; yet very few are aware of what local party committees do or how they can run for office.

These findings suggest that New York's political parties are failing to effectively engage and represent New York's 8 million plus residents.

"New York City is not an anomaly. Millions of Americans are not being represented at the most grassroots levels of our democracy," explains Merritt.

"While democracy takes a nap, party decision-making rests in the hands of a small group of people in-the-know, who are elected with little, if any, opposition. Thankfully, there is a silver lining. People want change. People want representation. People want to fill these vacancies. With just a little action and education, we will see an awakening of local democracy."