James Lane, the Green Party candidate for Public Advocate, called today for Tish James to save the City $20 Million while still remaining on the November ballot.
Ms. James faces a midnight decision this Friday to save the tax dollars. Candidates have until three days after a party’s primary to opt off the ballot line.
Both Ms. James and Mr. Lane are guaranteed a spot on the November ballot as the nominees of the Working Families and Green Parties respectively.
Council member James and State Senator Squadron are facing a citywide runoff in three weeks for the Democratic Party line. Hardly anyone is expected to vote, especially if Mr. De Blasio crosses the 40 percent threshold for Mayor or Bill Thompson drops out.
“Rather than wasting $20 million on trying to knock Squadron off the November ballot, these funds would be much better invested in improving city services and strengthening the office of Public Advocate,” noted Lane. The funding for the Public Advocate, which is supposed to the public watchdog over the Mayor, has been slashed to $2 million.
“It’s unconscionable to me that we are going to have a $20 million runoff election when one of the candidates is already guaranteed a spot on the November ballot under the Working Families Party” said Lane, “This is the exact type of misuse of public funds I want to prevent in the future. If you want to be a candidate of working families, you shouldn’t waste public funding that is needed for healthcare, housing, jobs and schools.”
James and the Green Party have long called for the City’s system of runoff voting to be replaced by Instant Runoff Voting, where voters rank candidates in their order of preference. If no candidate reaches the threshold in the first round, the lowest ranked candidate is eliminated and the votes of their supporters are distributed to the second ranked choice. This process continues until one candidate wins.
ABOUT JAMES LANE
James Lane is the Green Party candidate for Public Advocate. Lane has never had a paid government position but he has volunteered locally to improve his community. If elected, he plans on focusing on Adoptee Rights Reform, Affordable Housing, Consumer Rights, Electoral Reform, Mass Transit and Public Health among other issues. He currently lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn with his wife and child.
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