That individual is Norman Siegel.
He faces a number of strong, capable opponents, most of whom have significant experience in government. Councilman Stephen DiBrienza especially has earned our respect for his 16 years of dedicated work fighting for public services for poor and working families.
Photo: Julia Xanthos
Mark Green, candidate for mayor
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But as head of the New York Civil Liberties Union for 15 years until he resigned to campaign, Siegel was a relentless and often ingenious advocate for some of the city's most disadvantaged. He organized lawsuits and public campaigns in support of underserved minority students, immigrant taxi drivers, and welfare recipients, and in opposition to police abuses and the death penalty. He won 23 First Amendment lawsuits against the Giuliani administration, no small feat considering the vindictiveness and tenacity of his opponent.
He has, in alliance with fellow progressives across the city, helped let in the light during times that were dark for anyone who believed in the importance of public protest, freedom from racial profiling and police brutality, and publicly accountable government. He speaks movingly of the perils of racial injustice, which he began fighting during the 1960s civil rights movement, and has backed his words with action.
He plans, if he wins, to augment paid staff with hundreds of volunteer complaint handlers and investigators—a prospect imaginable only given Siegel's record of rousing and recruiting others. With a proven disregard for political niceties, he promises not to relent in his investigation of official abuses no matter who the target and vows to push the limits of the office to the outermost. He calls himself a troublemaker, and we believe he will be, in all the right ways.
VoicePrimary Choices
MAYOR
Mark Green
COMPTROLLER
Herb Berman
PUBLIC ADVOCATE
Norman Siegel
BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT
Adolfo Carrion Jr.
QUEENS BOROUGH PRESIDENT
Helen Marshall
COUNCIL DISTRICT 1
Rocky Chin
COUNCIL DISTRICT 2
Margarita Lopez
COUNCIL DISTRICT 6
Gale Brewer
COUNCIL DISTRICT 7
Victor A. Bernace
COUNCIL DISTRICT 8
Philip Reed
COUNCIL DISTRICT 9
Bill Perkins
COUNCIL DISTRICT 10
Ydanis Rodriguez
COUNCIL DISTRICT 11
G. Oliver Koppell
COUNCIL DISTRICT 19
Arthur Cheliotes
COUNCIL DISTRICT 20
Ethel Chen
COUNCIL DISTRICT 25
James Van Bramer
COUNCIL DISTRICT 27
Erica Ford
COUNCIL DISTRICT 31
James Blake
COUNCIL DISTRICT 33
David Yassky
COUNCIL DISTRICT 35
Peter Williams
COUNCIL DISTRICT 36
Al Vann
COUNCIL DISTRICT 39
Jack Carroll
COUNCIL DISTRICT 40
Wellington Sharpe
COUNCIL DISTRICT 42
Charles Barron
COUNCIL DISTRICT 45
Kevin Parker
