We had the votes, so why didn’t it pass?
We launched the year with the Build or Burn Rally that saw 10 comrades arrested. Through electoral pressure of the Green New York slate and our inside lobbying, we forced Democratic leadership to pass the Build Public Renewables Act in the state senate.
After passing there, Speaker Carl Heastie blocked it from coming to a vote in the Assembly. The last stop before it would head to the governor’s desk.
He is hiding behind fake claims we did not have the votes to pass, claims we have disproven through our rigorous whip operation. Together we made thousands of calls that swung politicians on the fence. At the same time we had DSA-elected assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and even Congressman Bowman actively intervening, a testament to the power DSA built that could not be ignored.
Carl Heastie could not continue to block us. He has been forced to issue a public statement, agreeing with the legislation, and scheduling a hearing on July 28th. This is unprecedented. We forced Carl Heastie’s hand. There will be much more to come. In the meantime we need to continue to build our power.
#BuildPublicPower
On Monday, June 6, we held a debrief and mobilization call where we went into more detail about how the campaign went this year, what we are still doing to build power in 2022, and much more. If you missed it, find the presentation slides and meeting recording below.