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PEP Sept. 2002
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Public Employee Press

Poltical Action 2002

Members call for McCall

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

As Sept. 10 primary election approaches, hundreds of union members and retirees are working overtime to get out the vote. DC 37's army of activists have been making thousands of calls from the union's restored state-of-the-art computerized phone banks and helping their neighbors get registered to vote at tables in shopping areas and at block parties citywide.

Mobilized by the union's Political Action Dept., the dedicated volunteers of the DC 37 Green Team have handed out campaign literature at street corners, bus stops and subway stations in the expanding campaign to help H. Carl McCall win the Sept. 10 Democratic primary for governor.

"On Primary Day we'll be getting out the vote for all the candidates the union has endorsed so working families can get the services they deserve," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. "We will work hard to make sure Carl McCall is the next governor of New York. He has stood with us and we will stand by him."

The DC 37 Delegates Council overwhelmingly endorsed Mr. McCall in May after members had a chance to hear both candidates at a union forum. He faces Andrew Cuomo in the decisive Sept. 10 primary. The winner will run against incumbent Gov. George E. Pataki, who has his sights on the White House and has not committed himself to serving the full term as governor, should New Yorkers re-elect him.

On the campaign trail, Local 1549 member Belinda Dixon rises at 5 a.m. most weekdays and joins friends from DC 37 and other unions who are distributing McCall literature at the ferry terminal on Staten Island.

"I have a wonderful pension thanks to Carl McCall. His record as a public servant and accomplishments as state comptroller make him the best person for the job," she said.

"It is critical for DC 37 members and their families to turn out for this year's primary," said Political Action Committee Chair Leonard Allen. The hotly contested governor's race and the Republican control of the state Senate call for DC 37 members to rally behind union-endorsed candidates, he said.

In 1998, when Mr. McCall was elected comptroller, more people voted for him than for any other candidate, including the governor. "We can do just as well Sept. 10," said Ms. Roberts. "We are counting on the working people of this city to cast their votes for H. Carl McCall and for a better future for our children and a stronger economy for the state."

 
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