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CITYWIDE | PUBLIC ADVOCATE
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NORMAN SIEGEL |
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Democratic
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Party Enrolled
In: Democratic
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Occupation:
Lawyer
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Occupational Background:
Former Executive Director, New York Civil Liberties
Union.
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Educational Background:
New Utrecht High School; Brooklyn College; NYU Law
School.
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Organizational
Affiliations: Treasurer, Jackie Robinson Foundation;
Treasurer, Amadou Diallo Foundation; NYCLU.
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Prior Public Experience:
Mayor Giuliani’s Task Force on Police-Community
Relations.
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I believe the Public Advocate should be
the “people’s lawyer.” Throughout my
career at NYCLU and MFY Legal Services I’ve been
a private advocate fighting for people’s rights.
Now I want to be the Public Advocate. It’s a natural
for me. It’s what I do. It’s what I am.
We live in a great city with a diverse population
that enriches each of our lives. It is not a city
without problems, however, and I would like to
ameliorate what I believe to be the most serious
of them—racial tension, police-community hostility,
unequal educational opportunity for children,
insufficient affordable housing, and an increasingly
authoritarian city government.
I believe our Public Advocate should be an outsider:
someone who has worked and can work with government,
as I have, but who can and will be an independent
voice criticizing government when necessary to
protect the rights of all New Yorkers against
government abuse and mismanagement.
The Public Advocate can publish reports on the
effectiveness of city agencies, make recommendations
for improving government, propose legislation,
subpoena information, speak up and, if all else
fails, litigate to enforce your rights.
I am prepared to use all of those tools to represent
you. I will decentralize the Public Advocate’s
office and bring it to the people by recruiting
hundreds of volunteers who will conduct intake
at community and senior citizen centers, housing
developments and other public venues.
I want to attract young people to government,
build bridges across racial and geographic lines,
and begin a citywide dialogue on race relations.
We don’t have to accept the status quo. Together,
we can bring about real change and realize the
dream of what New York can be.
Endorsements include: Senator David Paterson,
Assemblyman Al Vann, 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement,
Latino Officers Association, Grand Council of
Guardians, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 726,
Iris Baez, Doris Busch Boskey.
(Statement reprinted as supplied by the candidate.)
Participating in the NYC
Campaign Finance Program.
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Candidate Statement Disclaimer
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