Newsletter of the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club

~ in~ ;l;-1s s_µt). liiiiiiiiiiii;====~ May 2014 · Sampson begins Senate re-election bid with T J Endorsement

Brooklyn, N.Y.- A heated race in 's 19th Senatorial District is brewing this year and the Thomas Jefferson Club has thrown itself into the mix by endorsing the candidacy of our incumbent senator, John Sampson. Mr. Sampson has served in the State Senate since I 996, achieving such positions as Deputy Majority Leader for State/Federal Relations and earning the distinction of being the first African American to serve as Chairman of the Senate

Judiciary Committee. He has also been Chair of Photo by Ian Gaynor the Democratic Conference of the State Senate. Most impressive is Senator Sampson 's Rox and Friends professional and legislative history, a record that Many supporters and contributors were in attendance at Roxanne sets him apart from his challengers. An Persaud's State Assembly fund-raiser on April 9th at Pizza Attorney by trade, Mr. Sampson began his D' Amore in Mill Basin. Speaking before a standing room only crowd, career in the Legal Aid Society as a staff Ms. Persaud greeted guests and thanked them for their support. Ms. attorney, representing clients in administrative 1 Persaud is running for the Assembly in our 59 h Assembly District. The and Housing Court proceedings. After leaving primary will be held in September and the general election in the Legal Aid Society, Mr. Sampson joined the November. Anyone interested in making a contribution to Ms. law finn of Alter and Barbaro, where he remain- Persaud 's campaign can contact Friends of Roxanne Persaud. Call ( Continued on p.2) Jamie Williams at (347) 742-52 13 for details. D Poll Inspectors Meetings This year's poll inspectors meetings will be held Captain's Meeting set for May 28th at the TJ Club, Saturday, May 31st, at 10 AM and Monday, June 2nd at 7 PM. Poll workers Our mandatory Captains Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May earn $200 per day and no prior experience is 28th at 8 PM. Petitions will be distributed at this time. This meeting is necessary. All people interested in being a poll open to all current and aspiring captains and is the best way to get worker must attend one of these two meetings. involved in the club. Anyone interested in becoming a captain can For information. please contact Sue Ann come to the meeting or contact us at TJDemCluM1-gmail.com. □ Partnow at (7 18) 971-4927. D ~--·---~--·· . _ , l\lay 2014 l!i_agc_:_4;::x.<.:_ ·-···,· .: _. ~be 3)'effersoman ·

District Leaders' Message ' t~a,idida·te ~potliaht I 1 It's Petition Time! 1!' • • ~: ._, Many of you have had your doorbells rung by enthusiastic young people with those long green - ;s..,v sheets (petitions) that help us nominate candidates ~r, running for office in our part of Brooklyn. May 29th is that magic day when this process begins. Please help us support those community activists John Sampson who deserve our support. Please be sure to sign a petition. Born: Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY Regards, Education: Tilden ffjgh School (1983), \ Frank and Roberta B.A., Political Science, Brooklyn College (1987), J.D., Albany Law School (1991) ( Continued from Sampson, p. I) Current Position: New York State Senator, ed until 2013. 19th District (1996-Present) It was in the New York State Senate that Mr. Sampson made his biggest impact on the lives of Professional History: bis constituents. During his 18 year career, ■ Admitted to the New York State Bar (1992) Senator Sampson voted to provide low interest ■ Corporation Council, paralegal (l 980's) loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or ■ Proskauer, Rose, litigation assistant (1987-88) relocating businesses and voted to reduce state ■ Department of Environmental Conservation government regulations on the private sector in order to spur economic growth and encourage (1988-1991 ) investment in our district. ■ Legal Aid Society, staff attorney (1992) On education, Senator Sampson voted to ■ Attorney, Alter and Barbaro (1993-2013) increase state funds for professional development Public Service Highlights: of teachers and administrators and encouraged ■ First African American to serve as Chairman private and corporate investment in public school of the Senate Judiciary Committee programs. He 1s a proponent of charter schools. Senator Sampson' s education policies received ■ Senate Ethics Committee, former Chair high marks from the United Federation of ■ Senate Administrative Regulations Review Teachers (UFT). Commission, former Chair Some of Senator Sampson' s legislative ■ Led the New York State Democratic Majority accomplishments include, securing $250 million in Conference from June 2009 to December 2010 federal matching funds for child support, passing ■ NYS Black, Hispanic and Asian Legislative legislation to protect victims of domestic violence, Caucus, Conference of Black Senators, Coundl of passing a bill that includes a minimum of ~40 Black Elected Democrats of New York State million for capital improvements to Starrett City, ■ Served as ranking member of Tourism. Health, stopping polluters from locating a waste transfer and Cities Committees station in the district, leading the fight for New York Hate Crime Laws, sponsoring laws to in­ Community Involvement: crease penalties for gun crimes and gun trafficking ■ Former member, Board of Trustees, Albany Law and helping to end the Rockefeller_Dru g Law~. School, Kings brook Jewish Medical Center, Based on his I 8 years of dedicated service to ■ Member, Board of Trustees, New York Medical our community and his record for getting things College done, the TJ Club enthusiastically endorses John ■ Member, Brooklyn Bar Association, NY State Bar Sampson for New York State Senate. - Captains face challenging conditions A Hard Day's Night while obtaining signatures in March TJ volunteers are busy at work getting out the first edition of our newsletter.

April 7 - An carli t r than usual his 8th Congressional District re­ election combined with one of the election bid. worst winters New York has What made the March experienced in recent memory made pet1t1 on drive particularly for a very challenging petition drive challenging was the early date for T J Club captains. However, TJ petitions were distributed due to members rose to the challenge as our any early congressional primary. captains brought in thousands of Jeffersonian captains are accus­ signatures to help qualify Congress­ tomed to going out in June when man Hakeem Jeffries for the ballot in petitions are normally dis­ tributed, taking advantage of the TOP 10 PETITION LEADERS late evenings and warm weather MARCH 2014 days that make people more amenable to sign. Still. our I . David Smith 400 captains showed great fortitude. 2. Yolaine Ridore 352 "The weather was brutal, but 3. Paul Curiale 123 it was still important that we 4. Adam Diamond 117 reach a large number of con­ t!J;be J effer~ontan 5. Stuart Heier 115 stituents. When the TJ Club 6. Michael Benjamin 112 supports a candidate, we do it to District Leaders 7. Stanley Scutt 111 the fullest extent," said David Frank Seddio Joel Cohen 111 Smith, March 2014's top Roberta Sherman 9. Mitchell Partnow 107 petition signature leader. 10. Yevgeniy "Jim" Kats 104 Yolaine Ridore, who suffer­ President ed a bad cold during the inclem­ Henry Bolus f•:· ent weather, yet still placed second in March's TJ Club totals, Chairperson of the Board >. UPCOMING EVENTS echoed Mr. Smith's sentiments. "[Obtaining signatures] is a Roxanne Persaud ;\ll'etings are Thursday nights .it passion and we are a family. We the T.J Club starting at 8 P;\I. do what we have to do to elect Editor the best candidates for our com­ Ian Gaynor Captains Meeting munity and who have our inter­ \\'ednesda_y. ;\lay 28th, 8 PM ests at heart," said Ms. Ridore. Contact us: T.J Club, 77 Conklin Avenue Our captains will have another opportunity soon enough. Address: Brookl~ n Democratic Petitions for candidates in this 77 Conklin A. Ycnuc. County Dinner September's primaries, includ­ Brooklyn, ~y t t 236 Thursday. l\lay 29th, 7 PM ing our very important primaries El Carihe. 5945 Strickland for Assembly and District Phone: (718) 649-7830 Aw, Brookl~n. ~\' 11234 Leader, will be distributed to our TJ captains on May 28th, when E-Mail: Poll Inspectors '.\'lectings much wanner weather and more T.JDcmCluh

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