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."